Rush Strong School Outlying Communities

Sweet Gum Bend is located about five miles northeast of Strawberry Plains. When Isaac McBee came to the bend to live the area was occupied by Indians. The area is almost surrounded by the waters of the Holston. A school was built at Hodges in 1884 called Beaver Creek School or Old Vance School which was a small one room building heated by a small stove with water carried from a well. The room included a stove, long benches, and small slanted desks. Water was carried in from a well. Enrollment was 25-45 but in 1925 Beaver Creek was torn down and the students were transported to Rush Strong.

Piney or Pleasant Grove on old Dandridge Pike is about four miles from Strawberry Plains. In 1793 Thomas McKnight came from North Carolina on a mule to settle the area. He married Miss Abbie Frazier and they set up housekeeping with only a skillet and a pile of straw. Mr. McKnight died in 1867. Bud Pierce built the first school there. In about 1906 a new schoolhouse was built and called Pleasant Grove School.

Hodges is about three miles east of Strawberry Plains and received its name form the Hodge family who were among the earliest settlers. The Hodges School was built in 1884. In 1925 the children were removed from Hodges School and sent to Rush Strong School.

Dumplin is located about eleven miles from Strawberry Plains. It dates back to 1797 when a Baptist Church was established in a log house. Legend has it that the name came from a cooking accident. A party of Indians were cooking dumplins near the creek bank in the area. A mishap caused the pot of dumplins to land in the stream and the area took on the name of Dumplin Creek and Dumplin Valley. In 1884 the Dumplin School was established. Dr. Carroll Bull connected with John Hopkins Hospital attended Dumplin School. Dumplin School taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and spelling.

Willard Town and Cynthiana are located within close proximity of each other. In Willard Town the Cherry Hill School served both of communities. Captain John Hill was the first settler in 1785. Willard got its name from the fact that so many Willards lived there.

Rolling Hill and Rolling Hill School is about a mile and a half from Strawberry Plains. The population of about 100 people consisted of mostly African Americans. The high school students from this area attended Nelson Merry High School in Jefferson City.

In addition to these communities the Jackson School was first a private school and then sold to the county. The Cedar Grove School which was built before the Civil War and also used for a church closed in 1927.

Since so many communities of Strawberry Plains were now represented at Rush Strong clubs were formed from each community. Each club had to be responsible for an assembly program during the year. The club that presented the best program was given half a day off on Good Friday for a club picnic.

Rush Strong continued to serve elementary and high school students until the completion of Jefferson County High School in 1976. The old building remained an elementary school for grades K-8 until 1979 when a much needed new building was built. Little by little the old building was torn down. Today the only remaining structure from the original Rush Strong School is the gym built in 1959. In 1999 a new wing was added for the middle school grades.

Renowned Graduates of Strawberry Plains High

Louise McBee (6^th generation from Adam Meek) Dean of Women, University of Georgia, Athens

Hop Bailey Knox County School Board member, Knoxville Real Estate

Sam Parrott Atlanta Piedmont Hotel Manager

Ed Bailey Sharing catching duties with Smokey Burgess on the 1956 Cincinnati Reds, the 6'2" 205-lb Bailey hit 28 home runs as the team tied a National League record by hitting 221. Bailey hit 20 homers in 1957 and 21 in 1963, and was in double figures five other years. When pitcher Jim Bailey was promoted to the 1959 Reds, Ed briefly became part of one of baseball's few "brother batteries."