ST. STEPHEN, S.C. – A nearly century-old landmark in the heart of St. Stephen will soon be no more. Berkeley County officials recently confirmed that the old St. Stephen school, which currently houses a public library and magistrate court, will be torn down to make way for a new building in its place.
“It was a decision made after much discussion between county council and the Town of St Stephen after multiple attempts for bids to salvage the existing building,” Berkeley County spokesperson Jenna-Ley Harrison told The Berkeley Observer in an email.
The new, proposed 14,500 square-foot building will incorporate the library, the magistrate, and town hall, county officials said.
Built in approximately 1928, the old building served as the town’s first high school for white students during segregation, according to the St. Stephen Historical and Cultural Committee. Construction was part of a statewide movement to consolidate rural schools into larger, regional schools with bus service.
The brick building remained segregated as a high school through 1956. The following year, it became an elementary school for white students through 1970. In 2013, the building was converted for use as a public library, local historians said.
Some residents who’ve called the small town home for decades said they are sad to see a piece of local history eventually torn down.
“My daddy graduated from that school. My sister, brother and I went to that school. We were born and raised here. What are they thinking? I am in agreement with what some others said. They need to do something with Main Street. This just breaks my heart,” resident Barbara Mixon posted to social media.
“Sad if it’s torn down. We all have fond memories of the school. It seems if they have funds to build a new building, they could have used it to help improve the town. Why not renovate the old high school and use it for office space?” said Charlie Wayne Smith Sr.
Others, however, believe that if the small town is to thrive, growing pains will likely have to come along with it.
“You want to see the town grow, this is it,” resident Patrick Crawford said.
In 2013, the county spent $1.3 million to renovate the old school building. Four years later, county officials said they discovered numerous construction deficiencies from that remodel that warranted filing a lawsuit. That litigation ended in 2022 with a settlement that required the construction contractor responsible for those renovations to pay $1.5 million to Berkeley County.
The same year, Berkeley County Council approved $2 million in renovations in an attempt to salvage the old building. County officials then opened the remodeling project for bids.
“The first bid that was received after a rebid was over $5 million. The contractor also said there needed to be additional contingency as there were potentially still unknowns due to the bad craftsmanship of the previous renovation at the facility. Five million dollars was described as a ‘band-aid’ fix by the engineering firm. We did not feel comfortable with that,” county officials told The Berkeley Observer.
County officials said they plan to save as much of the existing brick from the old school as possible to be used in the construction of the new building.
When construction on the new building begins, county officials said the St. Stephen library branch will temporarily move to Main Street and the magistrate court will share the town’s police courtroom as needed.
According to county officials, they won’t know how much the new building will cost until the design is completed and the public bids come back. Funding for the project will come from the county’s lawsuit settlement and fund balance.
While county officials said they do not have a hard date as to when the old school will be torn down, at a March 13 public town meeting to discuss the project, construction could start in about a year.
The Berkeley Observer did reach out to St. Stephen Mayor John Rivers on Monday for comment on the proposed new building. However, as of publication time, we have not heard back. We will update this story if we do.
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