From These Roots

Tigerville Elementary School is one of the oldest continuing schools in Greenville County. According to oral tradition, the school began in 1866 in a small one-room schoolhouse building. It was in this one-room building that a committee from the North Greenville Baptist Association met to select a location for a denominational high school. The committee chose Tigerville due to a donation of 10 acres of land by Benjamin F. Neves and a $2,500 donation by the Tigerville community.

Sometime after 1924, a larger two-room schoolhouse was constructed on the same property. The original one-room schoolhouse was torn down in the late 1930s. It was likely in 1938 that construction began on a new schoolhouse which was finished in time for classes in 1939. The new schoolhouse was made of brick and the old two-room schoolhouse was eventually moved to its present location near the Tigerville Café. For many years, the building was used as a rental house. Today, the two-room Tigerville Elementary School building is used by North Greenville University to house the Honors Program and the Institute for Transformational Leadership.

            The brick Tigerville Elementary School building was renovated and expanded in the 1950s to include four additional classrooms, a cafeteria, a kitchen, and bathrooms. The old main entrance to the brick building was closed off and a new main entrance was included in the addition. This building served Tigerville students through at least two attempted closings of the school. Each time, the parents and the community rallied around their little elementary school and convinced the school board to keep it open. People with children zoned for other schools began requesting special permission for their children to attend Tigerville Elementary. Many parents loved the idea of a small school where the principal was able to know the name of every student. As the school’s population grew, a new school building became necessary.

            Construction on the new school building began in 2004 and it was announced that the old brick Tigerville Elementary School building would be donated by Greenville County Schools to North Greenville College. North Greenville would pay to have the building moved onto college property and this would save the school district the estimated $49,500 cost of demolishing the structure while preserving an historic building.

            The old brick school building was moved to the North Greenville College campus in 2005. The 1950s additions were torn down before the move so bathrooms needed to be added to the building as a part of the renovations. In 2006, a basement structure was built to support the school building and renovations were completed on the inside. The new purpose of the school was to house the North Greenville Theatre Department. The old school library became an acting studio, the teacher’s lounge became two bathrooms, and the old main entrance was unblocked to once again become the main entrance of the building. The name chosen for the building was the Tigerville School of Theatre to retain the “Tigerville School” name.

The buildings aren’t the only connections between North Greenville and Tigerville Elementary. Due to the close proximity, numerous children of North Greenville employees have attended Tigerville. In the past, elementary school teachers were not required to have a college degree so many North Greenville Junior College students were able to teach classes at Tigerville while working on their degrees. In more recent times, North Greenville students have served as student teachers at Tigerville.