History of Maurepas School

Maurepas School began with classes taught by Jeremiah Palmer in a church during the 1850's.  The church building was destroyed in 1862 by a forest fire, and a one-room school was erected in 1866 near Catfish Landing where classes were taught by B. K. Benefield. In 1886, the Grange Farming Association constructed a building for their own use, but attendance at the local public schools had increased so much that the two-room Grange building was pressed into service for classes. In 1890, one acre of land near the present-day American Legion Hall in Maureaps was purchased from B.B. Cleneay, and a larger two-room school building was erected there.  In 1912, the present two-story building was constructed on a six-acre lot purchased from Carlie Batiste, consolidating the Maurepas, Bear Island, and Whitehall schools. The following year Francis Langdon became the first graduate. In 1935, a new $32,000 stucco building, consisting of 16 classrooms was built. The construction was financed with bonds purchased by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and the grounds were landscaped and new water wells were dug with funds from a WPA grant.  Maurepas School continues to utilize the original structures, along with a remodeled office complex and a new Kindergarden and first grade building.