Just hours before Falling Water Elementary was brought to the ground Tuesday, members of the small community walked the school's bare halls, scavenging for memories.
The 104-year-old school closed this spring after educating generations of families, many who still live in the Falling Water community nestled at the foot of Walden's Ridge.
Stephanie Alexander stood in the school's empty gym Tuesday morning removing students' drawings from the bulletin board as contractors worked on scaffolding around her preparing for the demolition.
"My family donated the land for this school," Alexander said through tears. "My son was the fifth generation to attend."
Alexander neatly stacked each picture on top of the others, explaining that she wanted to preserve any memories she could. She and other Falling Water residents plan to make a bid to the Hamilton County Department of Education for the property, hoping to preserve the land for the community.
"If you don't live in the Falling Water community, you just don't get it," she said. "I just want to keep the land so we can come back and tell all the stories to my grandkids."
School board member Rhonda Thurman represented the school and said she hopes the board will vote to sell the 5-acre property to the residents.
"We don't have to take the highest bid," Thurman said. "We can sell it to who we think will put the property to best use."
A playground, ball field and track remain on the property, and Thurman said the residents have plans to build a pavilion near where the old schoolhouse stood.
Falling Water Elementary had fewer than 200 students this past school year, and the Hamilton County Board of Education decided to have the school razed and consolidated into a more cost-efficient "mega-school." Many of Falling Water's students will attend the new Middle Valley Elementary this fall, which will hold about 1,000 students.
Many across the county mourned the closing of Falling Water, as it was one of the last remaining community schools. It also was named one of just 285 Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education last year. The school earned the prestigious award for its success closing achievement gaps among students. The school educated a large share of poor children, but it tested above the state and Hamilton County's standardized test averages in every subject last year.
Former Principal Lee Ann Burk previously said the school's success was because of the relationships that existed within the schoolhouse and the ability to teach every student and help them individually.
Several research studies have found smaller schools such as Falling Water help students from less affluent communities narrow the academic achievement gap with wealthier peers. One study by the Rural School and Community Trust, a nonprofit educational research organization, analyzed performance at a range of schools in Georgia, Ohio, Montana and Texas. It found the correlation between poverty and low achievement is as much as 10 times stronger in larger schools than in smaller ones in all four states.
Clayton Williams, standing outside his empty fourth-grade classroom at Falling Water Tuesday, said he's attending Middle Valley Elementary this fall as a fifth-grader.
"I honestly don't know what to expect," Clayton said.
Looking down the hall he remembered a time in second grade when he and his classmates did an egg drop science experiment.
"Now the school seems kinda lonely," he said.
Clayton's mom, Carmen Harvey, stood next to him and said it was sad saying goodbye to the school.
She is one of the people spearheading the effort to raise money to buy the property.
"I really think it would be good for us all to be able to come back," she said.
Alexander said it's going to be hard driving down Roberts Mill Road and not seeing the school standing there; it's been there her entire life.
She and a group of friends planned to watch the demolition Tuesday afternoon from a house next door to the school.
"When it's getting torn down we may scream and cuss," she said. "I don't drink, but I may have a drink it's like they're ripping my heart out."
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at 423-757-6592 or kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.