Three Barbour County Schools
Chestnut Flats, Watercamp and Overfield
Submitted by Joe Ferguson
Chestnut Flats School, 1947
My family, Thacker on the maternal side, has lived in Valley district of Barbour County, in
various places between Werner and Talbot, from the 1850's until the present.
Here are three pictures of former Barbour Co.schools, of which I often
have fond memories. First a picture of the students of Chestnut Flats
School taken about 1947. I'm the boy, third row, first from the left. Some of the
family names of the children there are: Conner, Delaughter, Fallen, Farley, Ferguson, Golden,
McCauley, Nelson, Price, Regester, Richards, Robinson, Ross, Snyder, Talbot, Williams, Winans,
and Wolford.
The building is now a dwelling, but I don't know who lives there.
Another interesting note on the area around Chestnut Flats is the number of
stores that were along the road between Talbot and Werner. You could get just about anything
you needed to tide you over 'til Saturday when it was goin' to town day.
Starting at the Talbot community and going toward Werner were the
Hathaway's, Winan's, M.Yeager's, Ab Yeager's, Henry Street's and Merl Werner's stores.
Just a little way down the road toward Belington from Werner's store was
Solenski's, Corley's and Colter's stores.
In town it was shopping at Parrish's grocery, the A&P, the "feed store", Kane and Keyser's
Golden Rule, get just about anything you need store. And if that didn't do it there was always the
Wards
catalog order twice a year.
Watercamp School
This is Watercamp School where my mother went to school in the 1920's. The
Chestnut Flats and Watercamp schools each "visited" the other in the fall and spring and we
played ball. It was an all day excursion. We walked to the other school and usually got there a
little before noon, ate our lunches and then played "baseball" as well as other games. Then we
walked back to our own school in the afternoon.
Overfield School
The Overfield School is in very bad condition. I went to school there in the
7th and 8th grades. Last summer I drove by and was able to take a picture in
the rain. Rather depressing to see such history disappear.
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