This great photo of the Thompson School in Siler City has been donated to the Chatham County Historical Association by Katherine Collins whose great great grand-uncle, James Alexander Wilson Thompson, opened the school in 1887 in Chatham. The school was located where Siler City Town Hall was built in 1939.

Much of the history of the school has been preserved by the late local historian Wade Hadley, who noted that the school "... forms an important chapter in the early history of Siler City." The school, which opened in 1887, was a private boarding school which attracted about 100 out-of-town students each session. It became known as one of the outstanding preparatory schools in the state. The students of the school were "a dominant factor in the social and economic life of the village, which had a population of only 254 in 1890."

Mr. Hadley’s article about the history of the Thompson School can be viewed on our website:

https://chathamhistory.org/.../History%20of%20Thompson...

Mr. Hadley's document contains a photo of the Thompson School as it appeared “around 1924 after being abandoned. Located where Siler City Town Hall was built in 1939. This view is looking toward the northeast.” The photo posted here on Facebook is the best we have seen of the school building in its prime. Our thanks to Katherine for sharing it with us!

We also learned a bit about the school from a letter written by a student -- shared by Wally Jarrell. You can also read the letter and some background on our website:

https://cdn.wildapricot.com/.../Letter%20from%20Thompson...

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