The old yellow paint is coming off the original Blanco School building as construction workers prepare to integrate the facility into a modern new Elementary School complex. “The original stone building dates to 1884,” said construction supervisor Bill Burrow. “Additional wings were added in 1902. I suppose someone painted over the beautiful old stone when it became soiled. Back then there were no power washers to clean it up. In some places we will probably leave some of the old yellow paint in order to preserve the names that we found carved into the rock. For example,” said Mr. Burrow, “the name of one ‘Louis Capt’ is etched into the limestone. I looked the name up on the 1870 census and found out that he was a millwright who also ran a gristmill on Miller Creek. He might have worked on the original school building.”

The stone is all hand-tooled and was donated for the school by the Masonic Lodge that had acquired the stone in order to build a college. The lodge donated the stone and the property for a public school when the college failed to materialize. “I have worked on several school projects,” said Mr. Burrow, “but this one is unique because of the historical significance of the old building. I am really glad that this old building is being integrated into the new school complex. “As we have excavated the site we have found quite a few artifacts, including a time capsule. They have all been turned over to the school district.”