Brief History of Byrd Elementary

Byrd Elementary School
How It Began:  Where It Is Now

      In the western section of Aiken County extending from the Savannah River to the city of Aiken, is a section known as the Horsecreek Valley.  This section of the county serves as a cradle of South Carolina textile mills, legends, old families, and hard working folks.  The Valley extends some twenty miles and houses more than 20,000 people, over 40 churches, and some 20 small independent towns/communities.   Each of the small communities, villages, and towns still clings to its identity, although telephone exchanges and a highway network have tied them into an almost single city stretching from Aiken to the Savannah River.  The highest point in the Valley is located atop Cemetery Hill near the gravesite of Mr. William Gregg, founder of the Graniteville Company and the industrial titan of the valley.

     The Westos and Chickasaw Indians originally inhabited the Horsecreek Valley.  The Valley’s legacy dates back either to the tribes of the era or to the brawling era before the War between the States.  In December of 1860, when the town of Graniteville was only fifteen  years old, South Carolina voted to secede from the Union.   At this time in history, the men and boys of Graniteville established company "F" of the 7th Regiment of the Confederate Army and sought to defend their native state.  The textile industry located in Graniteville furnished cloth and other materials for Southern military purposes.  Because of this war effort, General Sherman ordered the mills destroyed along with a paper mill located nearby.  General Kilpatrick was in command of the Union troops.  At Aiken, General Joe Wheeler held Sherman’s troops away from Graniteville and thus avoided the destruction of the mills, churches,  and homes in the community.  Food was scarce during the Civil War, but Mr. William Gregg bartered cloth for food items for his employees, and they fared better than most others in the state.  Many people came to the community seeking food and other necessary items, but they were turned away due to the limited supply.  Mr. Gregg received     criticism from the press and even from the pulpits because he had to turn away many needy persons.

      Graniteville became the largest town in the Valley.  It was once known by the less lovely, but more descriptive, name of Hardscrabble.  Blue granite was quarried from the nearby mines and thus lent the name Granite to the textile mill built in 1843.   Mr. William Gregg  received a charter in late 1845 and early 1846 giving him the right to build on the land.  He built the town, and in 1847 he began constructing the mill and finished it in 1848.  The mill has been added to on several occasions.  In 1848, there were 300 employees in the mills.   The number grew to 660 during  World War II.    Until the late 1950’s, the company was primarily engaged in making cotton.  As the cost of producing cotton began to rise, the company decided to produce knits, synthetics, polyesters, and cotton cloth from the raw fibers.   In 1963, when the textile officials saw that mothers were not satisfied with the cloth because they had to iron it, several members helped in perfecting a permanent press fabric.

      Mr. William Gregg was born in 1800 in what is now West Virginia. Mr. Gregg went to Columbia, SC, to become a watchmaker, silversmith, and jeweler.   Between 1824 and 1836, he managed to build a fortune of about one hundred thousand dollars.   Then because of temporary health problems he had to take up residence with his wife’s parents in Edgefield, SC.  During this time, he became interested in an old run-down cotton mill in Vaucluse, S.C.  He decided to invest money it the mill and undertook its operations.  He soon had it running profitably.  In 1838, he left the mill and moved to Charleston to form a partnership with an old established jewelry firm and became one of the city’s leading silversmiths.  His interest in textiles continued to grow and he visited New England to examine its mills at first hand.  In 1845, Gregg obtained a charter from the South Carolina legislature to build the Graniteville Manufacturing Company.   He became the builder and first president of the company.  Gregg invested his fortune in the mill in order to see it through some very unstable times.  Two years after the close of the civil war, William Gregg died.  He learned that the dam at Graniteville had broken and he rushed to the scene and waded into the deep waters of the millstream to direct repair operations.  During this time, he developed pneumonia and died on September 12, 1867.

      During the early years of Graniteville,  Leavelle McCampbell School housed both the elementary and high school grades.  In 1954, the Graniteville Company sold approximately 15 acres on the upper end of Ergle Street to the Gregg District Schools.  The board decided to build an elementary school on this property.  Both the state and federal government approved the tract of land.  The new elementary school, to be named Howard M. Byrd Grammar School, was dedicated on April 2, 1955.  Mr. William C Lott, Vice President of the Graniteville Company,  was the dedication speaker.   Mr. L. M. Togneri was superintendent at the time of the construction of the new elementary school.  Mrs. Essie Atteberry was named principal.   It was suggested that the school be named Howard M. Byrd.  The name was approved and the new school became known as the Howard M. Byrd Grammar School, honoring the retired   superintendent of the Gregg District School.   He has served faithfully at Leavelle McCampbell School for 26 years.  Mr. Byrd was a graduate of Presbyterian College in June 1914 after which he did graduate work at the University of North Carolina.  He came to Warrenville as Superintendent of Warrenville Schools in which position he served for five years.  In the fall of 1919, he accepted the job of Superintendent of the Gregg District School in Graniteville.  Mr. Byrd  was a pioneer in developing a modern school system for the Gregg District School.  He was instrumental in planning and building modern structures such as Leavelle McCampbell, Freedman Colored School, and Graniteville High School with its modern, well-equipped library, dining room, commercial room, home economic room, machine and textile shops, comfortable heated classrooms, which accommodated a growing student population.  He was an avid supporter of vocational training.  He set up an excellent commercial department and perhaps the only up-to-date machine shop training school in this section of the state.   He added to the curriculum courses in piano and choral works, band and orchestra, and  physical fitness.  He was instrumental in helping organize the Nursery School and Extended Child Care School which serves to keep the children of working mothers under proper supervision while the mothers assist in the war efforts

      Mr. Byrd was an outstanding member of the community and served as a leader in community affairs throughout his lifetime.  On the tenth of September, 1953, Mr. Howard M. Byrd died.  His death left a gap in the hearts of community members.

Howard M. Byrd School opened in 1954 with 10 classrooms.    Six  classrooms were added in 1961.   In 1964, the present cafeteria was added to the school.  A number of mobile units was added,  and finally in 1987 a new wing of the building was completed which housed a new media center, office complex with four offices, sickroom/work area,  a reception area, a vault, and a storage area, two kindergarten rooms, two small classrooms which house speech and resource classes, four regular fourth grade classrooms, and  restroom facilities for boys and  girls. With the construction of the new wing came renovations to the old part of the building.  The large area where the school cafeteria/kitchen was originally located had been changed to the media center,  and now it became the computer lab/Art/Music room and Title I/Reading Recovery classroom.  In August 1998, a multi-purpose room was completed and used for physical education classes.  During the summer of 1999 all interior and exterior painted surfaces were completely repainted.  The following year, summer 2000, all carpeted and tiled floors were replaced throughout the entire building.

Byrd Elementary School now enrolls approximately 540 students in grade Pre-K four through grade five.   The school has a staff of seventy-three full and part-time employees, as well as many other itinerant persons, volunteers, and  support persons.  The Byrd School faculty envisions a school that focuses on academic pursuits, accountability, and high standards of conduct in a safe and nurturing environment.  The mission of Byrd Elementary School is to provide a motivating and challenging education that meets the individual needs of each student.   The school has been a five-time winner of the South Carolina School Incentive Award Program. The school has begun a movement toward creating a community  atmosphere within the school setting.  Security Federal Bank offers  each child the opportunity to start a savings plan at the school bank.  The Wee Deliver Postal System, "Eagle Express", allows students, parents, and staff  the opportunity to utilize the postal service for friendly letter writing and communications.  Students are offered an opportunity to participate in worthwhile community and school beautification projects through the Learn and Serve Grant awarded to the school.  With the ever changing atmosphere in education today, Byrd Elementary continues to stand tall in its pursuit of high academic standards and will strive to do so in the years ahead.

Byrd Elementary was chosen as a SC School Incentive Award winner in 1988-1989, 1990-1991, 1992-1993, and 1996-1997.

A special thanks to Mr. J. W. Peacock for researching this information for our school.