1870 Atlanta Public School Stone

1870 Atlanta Public School Stone. . This stone is from the façade of the Atlanta Public School constructed in 1870 to replace the town's original Seminary Building. The 1870 school included 10 schoolrooms, a spacious recital hall, and an office. An $800 Seth Thomas, four-dial clock was located in a cupola tower atop the building. The clock rang for the first time on August 10, 1871. According to the Atlanta Argus, "It could be heard all over town, giving students and parents alike no excuse for tardiness in arriving for classes." , The school's clock stopped at 3:35pm on July 21, 1908 when the building was destroyed by fire. The Argus reported, "It is supposed that the fire originated from a spark from a burning brush pile. A lot of trees in the schoolyard have recently been sacrificed and in cleaning up the brush a large bonfire was made not a great distance from the building, Likely the fire in this way communicated to the dry shingle roof and it was not long until the whole building was ablaze."