Troy Elementary School

Historical Background and Context

Montgomery County  Montgomery County, land that originally belonged to Anson County, was formed in 1779. The county was 950 square miles until 1841 when 308 square miles were taken from Montgomery County to form Stanly County (Powell, 2017).  Montgomery County was named to honor General Richard Montgomery, a major leader in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary war. He is most famous for his failed invasion of Quebec City, Canada in 1775 (Cullum, 1876). The town of Troy became the county seat in 1844.

Troy, North Carolina  In 1846, Angus McCaskill donated fifty acres of Montgomery County land to layout the foundation for Troy, North Carolina. A wooden courthouse was built in the center of the 50 acres, and soon businesses and homes cluttered around it. The town was named for John B. Troy, a local attorney, and it was officially incorporated in 1852. When the first courthouse burned to the ground in 1886, all of the documents were lost, thereby limiting historical information available on the town of Troy’s beginnings (Lassiter, 1975). By the 1920s, the town of Troy was growing. Gold was discovered in the area and more than 30 gold mines were opened. With the growing economy, people migrated to Troy for lodging, food, and supplies. This created a need for the construction of the first school, Troy Elementary (Grey, 2011).

Troy Elementary  Troy Elementary was originally just called Troy School. Troy School was located in the center of a three-acre plot of land four blocks from the business section of town. The original building was constructed in 1924; it contained four classrooms and was only 2,810 square feet. This school has had many changes over the years and experienced many different additions and renovations. The school once included all grade levels, including high school (Heritage, 1981).  In 1978, older students relocated to Troy Junior High School. That same year they tore down the old part of Troy Elementary School and built the new part from the lobby all the way down to the cafeteria, which still exists today. Remnants of the old athletic field are still visible—concrete bleachers built into the bank near the back of the parking lot down by the cafeteria and gym area. The population of the town of Troy continued to grow and Troy Elementary School soon became overcrowded. In 2001, Page Street Elementary School was completed to alleviate the overcrowding. Students in kindergarten through second grade stayed at Troy Elementary School  while students in grades third through fifth moved to the newly created Page Street Elementary School (Heritage, 1981).

Page Street Elementary  Page Street Elementary School  opened its doors in 2001. The school is located on Page Street, which is just a short two-minute drive from its sister school, Troy Elementary. With the schools in such close proximity, they do share school buses and some special area teachers. The school itself contains three major hallways. These hallways include the third/fourth grade, the main hallway for administrative areas offices/computer lab/media center, and the fifth grade hallway. The school was built with a large gymnasium.