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On April 15, 1815, on a hill overlooking Beaver Creek at the intersection of Emory and Copper Ridge Roads, Thomas Reed deeded one acre of land and twenty poles to John Scott and David Hall, deacons of the Beaver Ridge Baptist Church, for the purpose of erecting a "free" meeting place and setting aside a portion of the land for a burial ground.
Across the creek from the acre of land was a stand of large poplars. They were felled and hewn there in the forest near Trotter Mill. Then they were hauled by oxen to the building site. It was a crude log structure about twenty by forty feet with one window and one door. However, when it was finished it was considered a superb structure. This building served as both a church and school. It was called Beaver Ridge School. [ The building was northeast of the Masonic Lodge building that is still standing.]
Students were taught the "three R's" plus spelling and geography, depending upon what the teacher was able to teach. The following families were some of those early settlers who established the community of Beaver Ridge and whose children might have attended this school: Garrison, Trotter, Hendrix, Brown, Moore, Rule, Callaway, Smith, Cox, Coward, McBath, Asbury, Byington, Brimer, Collier, Fox, Reagan, Scott, Hall, Reed, Galbraith, Yarnell and Leinart.
Sometime in the early 1870's a group of Pennsylvania Dutch settled in the area. Some of the families were the Yoders, the Smokers, the Detweilers, and the Leinarts. They were industrious, knowledgeable farmers who contributed to the growth of the community as well as to the improvement of the soil. They brought the first Jersey Cattle to the area. The Detweiler and Yoders taught other farmers how to burn lime from a near-by quarry and spread it on their fields to improve the soil.
In 1874 the log school was abandoned to become a corn crib. The new school was a one-room frame building erected on Cobbs Ferry Pike (Beaver Ridge Road). [ Location of the KHS our Class of 1950 attended]. This school served the community for sixteen years. In 1890 a two-room school was built at the cost of $888. In 1891 a state law was passed which defined primary and secondary schools. Primary schools consisted of grades 1-5 and secondary school was primary school plus 3 additional years. Therefore, it became the Beaver Ridge Secondary School. At the same time the length of the school year was extended and it became prominent as a secondary school. In the years that followed, community growth necessitated the construction of a third classroom. This structure met the needs of the community until 1911.
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