History ~ Students ~ Life of a Scholar

Montpelier Schools

In 1924 the first class to graduate from high school at Montpelier completed their credits and received their diplomas. Prior to that time, there were no accredited high schools in St. Helena Parish except at Greensburg. School age children attended 2 - 3 months during the year, attending one-room schools where the teacher taught all seven grades. A few students attended six months of the year according to the U.S. Census of St. Helena for 1900. Private academies had been the means of education until the beginning of the Twentieth Century when public education came into being when School Boards were established under Legislative Act 60 of 1906. This laid the groundwork for public education as we know it today.

School buildings in Montpelier were a one-room school located south of the location of the "Old" Montpelier. Among the teachers were Willie D. Watson Hoover.

The next building was west of the cemetery and south of the Methodist Church. This building was also used as a meeting place for the Woodmen of the World organization who had total use of one room upstairs which members kept locked.

Zula Tate Braud recalls that Usher and Vera Coburn (brother and sister) lived with their parents at Marvin Fletcher's place. They travelled to school in a buggy. At noon they would water and feed their horse near the school building.

Approximately 1920 a new building was completed and occupied. It was located between the present home of Mrs. Cornelia Bond and the Telephone Exchange Building and a little distance from the highway. Two-story white frame, it contained a number of class rooms. Glenn Tate had the job of driving his sisters to school in a buggy. Years later, when he spoke of this, one could sense he was unhappy with the watering and feeding of the horse at noon recess while everyone else was playing. Edward Tate walked to school. Edward Tate recalls a covered wagon that provided transportation from Jack, Louisiana to Montpelier. This wagon was driven by Ernest Stone. Several families came to school riding in the wagon including the children of Mr. & Mrs. Bud Morgan, Mr. & Mrs. Hayden Singleton, the Stone Family and Raborn Family. They came through the "piney woods", a distance of about seven miles. On cold mornings, bricks were heated and placed on the floor to enable the children to keep their feet warm. Edward Tate recalls going for water to a dug well behind Mary Esther O'Malley's home. This was down a hill and water was brought to the school in open buckets. Later water was piped to the school from Mr. Hez Quin's. This was a great step forward.

All graduations from Montpelier High School were held in this building.

The last year of high school at Montpelier was 1939-40. When school opened in July 1940, students gathered at Montpelier and some high school students were sent to Woodland High and some to Pine Grove. Elementary school was continued in the old high school building for the school year 1940-41. In the fall of 1941, school started with classes at the same building, but the pupils were moved to different locations in Montpelier while the building was torn down and moved. A class met in the Nonie Blount house, another where Peggy and Perry Pevey live and others in the Baptist Church. The lunch room was in the old "canning kitchen" located behind where Mervin Carter now lives. All the children would congregate there for lunch.

By school eyar 1943, the building was taken down and the lumber used to erect the two white frame buildings located near the bank and fertilizer plant. This was an elementary school only and continued to serve the community as such until 1960. Children then were bussed to Pine Grove. The last two teachers here were Mrs. Mabel Watson and Mrs. Nannie Bond. These buildings have been used for various purposes - town hall, a meeting place for various organizations and last as a dance studio.

On 2 June 1956 Sam Morgan, Jr. donated 2 acres of land to the St. Helena Parish School Board on which a building was to be built for an elementary school for the black children (recorded Book 48, p. 280). This structure served for several years until schools were consolidated in the Parish to comply with integration directives. The school was closed. Mr. Morgan had stipulated that when the building ceased to be used as a school, the land and improvements would revert to him. This was accomplished and he has since leased the building to the Village of Montpelier for a Town Hall and Fire Department facility.

Graduates of Montpelier High

The above list of graduates was obtained from the State Department of Education, Baton Rouge, La.