The Old Peninsula School House
Continued - History of the West Mathews Civic Center
The original two story, wood frame building had a hip roof with a bell tower and wooden clapboard siding. Two sets of large six over six double hung windows balanced a centered double door entrance with fan shaped transom. A similar motif repeated on each side of the building providing generous light and ventilation. Once inside a front to rear center hallway accessed a spacious auditorium and two large classrooms, a library and an administration office on the second floor.
The early days at the school featured student plays, boys and girls sports teams and scholastic achievement. For example, the entire graduating class of 1916 continued on to college at Farmville, VPI, Fredericksburg and Randolph Macon. The facilities, while a substantial improvement over the previous standards, still depended on acetylene lighting, wood stoves for heat and outside privies. Inclement weather and health quarantines still subjected students and faculty to lengthy disruptions to the school schedule.
In 1922 the Virginia Legislature decided to eliminate the district school structure and consolidate schools into a country system. Further, the new system instituted compulsory attendance and teacher certification. In August of that year the peninsula school became part of the county system with title transferred from the trustees of the Westville School District to the newly formed County School Board of Mathews. By 1924 The Senior League provided laboratory equipment and chemicals for science students and the Cardinal Athenaeum donated hundreds of additional books to the library. While many contributed to the school and its students, Carrie Lee Gayle, a student in the early days of the school had returned as a teacher and shared with her students some of the experiences that had influenced her. She led field trips to many of the historic landmarks in the community such as Auburn, a colonial estate, Fort Nonsense, Cricket Hill battle site, Poplar Grove’s old tidal mill and the Court House.
Slowly the county consolidated students at central schools; by1946 the school served only grades one through four in one room of the formerly bustling structure. At the close of the school year classes were transferred elsewhere and in September the building was sold at public auction to George Philpotts for $2,025.
Unattended, the old school weathered several years until Charles D. White, representing the Mobjack chapter of international Order of Odd Fellows, purchased the structure and its five acre parcel in December 1950. The lodge maintained several rooms in the school installing electricity, an indoor lavatory and modest kitchen facility.
In an effort to increase funds available to maintain and upgrade the systems in the old school, the Odd Fellows sold their interest to the newly formed West Mathews Community League headed by Audrey White Mason in December 1989. Since then numerous improvement projects have upgraded and modernized lavatory, electrical, heating and cooling, kitchen, handicapped access and meeting room facilities as well as major roof and playground renovations.
The school remains the only survivor among its peers in Cobbs Creek, the Court House or New Point. The old school house now serves as the West Mathews Civic Center and hosts numerous community service and public gatherings, requiring modern systems to meet health and safety codes. The structure still remains the integrity of its heritage and stands unique as a reminder to an important period in Westville, Mathews and Virginia history.