By Terrence Johnson
MSNHA programs coordinator
Join us as we help restore the schoolhouse/community center of U.S. Nitrate Plant Village One, in Sheffield!
In 1916 & in preparation for the coming world war, Pres. Woodrow Wilson authorized two nitrate plants — nitrate is used in munitions — and a hydropower dam to run them to be built along the Tennessee River in the Shoals area. The U.S. Army Ordnance Department worked with Manhattan-based architect Harold A. Caparn, of Mann and MacNeille Architects and Town Planners, to plan three industrial villages as housing for supervisors & workers. Village No. 1 (known as “Nitrate Village” & attached to Plant No. 1, in Sheffield) included 85 houses, a school/community center & barracks for unmarried officers. The village was laid out in the shape of the Liberty Bell with the school building a core component of the community. The school included such innovative features as automatic flush toilets, daylight-flooded basements & self-playing pianos along with gorgeously impressive architecture.
Village construction began in 1918 only a few months before World War I ended. The nitrate project was abandoned & the village’s buildings remained largely unoccupied until Pres. Franklin Roosevelt established the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933. TVA housed employees there until deeding the village to Sheffield in 1949. The original school/community center was used until the mid-1990s.
Although the schoolhouse/community center was once the heart of the neighborhood, it deteriorated after the city closed the building. Recently, volunteers formed the non-profit Village School Foundation to restore this historic building for its original
purpose. Despite the beauty & craftsmanship of this historic location, it needs some TLC. That’s where we come in! On variously scheduled workdays, MSNHA will be at the schoolhouse to help the foundation’s hardworking volunteers. We’ll do anything from manual labor (paint, cleanup or repairs) to digging through TVA archives for info on the Village & nitrate plant.
On a recent workday, University of North Alabama students & community volunteers worked in the schoolhouse’s main hallway to prep the room for painting and plastering. We finished by applying some primer, and foundation president Greg Harrison introduced us to the plastering process. (Ask us about the hair!)
Our next Saturday workday is tentatively scheduled for May 7, but we’ll coordinate volunteers on weekdays before then. Check our website Events page & our Facebook events for updates, and learn more about the foundation at its website. Interested in participating? Email MSNHA at msnha@una.edu or the foundation at thevillageschoolfoundation@gmail.com. We ask only that you wear closed-toe shoes & clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. UNA students needing transportation to the workday can email Rebecca Harris at rharris12@una.edu for rides available first-come, first-served.
