600 North Main Street
City Directories and History: Bishopville High School, built in 1936, is an excellent example of the type of school architecture that flourished as a direct result of the educational reform campaign in South Carolina in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Additionally, it is a noteworthy example of the work of well-respected Bennettsville, South Carolina architect Henry Dudley Harrall. It is also significant as an
excellent example of an educational building in the Colonial Revival style built during a period when emergency funds were made available and many projects of this type were completed. The original L-shaped building is a two-story masonry structure and rests on a masonry foundation. The lateral gabled roof consists of a steeply-pitched A-frame with asphalt shingles. The original building’s elongated main block consists of a highly ornate rectangular central section featuring a row of twelve monumental pilasters and two-story flanking, projecting, gabled entrance pavilions. The building’s main façade features a beveled cast stone water table, a cast stone architrave resting atop the pilastrade, cast stone quoins, and a cast stone surrounded entry portal containing a frieze and cornice. At either end of the central block are symmetrical wings that are recessed and less ornate. The rear elevation is less decorative in detailing and fenestration when compared with the building’s façade. Additions to the wings of the building were made in 1956, 1965, and 1986. Listed in the National Register October 1, 2004.
(Courtesy of South Carolina Department of Archives and History) The building originally cost $62,000. to construct, it closed in 2000.
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