From earliest days, residents of Baxter County have wanted their children to have the opportunity for a good education. Since most transportation was by foot, school districts had to be small enough for students to walk to school, and in the 1800’s Baxter County had 67 separate districts.

     The very first Buford schoolhouse sat near Fairview Church and Cemetery, east of the present location. That schoolhouse was a log structure without chinking, and a dirt floor. Students sat on puncheon benches.

     As the area grew, a larger building was needed. A one-room frame building was built where the present building now stands along Highway 126 South, also known as “Buford Road.”

    When the Works Progress Administration—the W.P.A.— was established during the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt, local leaders applied to the agency for help in replacing the old one-room frame building.

     To provide the space for a new building, the one-room frame building was placed on logs and rolled to a location southwest of the building site. It served for many years as a residence for the teacher and other families as well as a lunchroom.

     The new rock building funded by the W.P.A. was completed  for use by grades one through eight in time for the 1935-36 school term. The building was constructed of limestone with grapevine mortar. Ribbons of multiple windows provided the classrooms natural light and ventilation. The interior consisted of two large classrooms separated by a partition that

could be raised up into the attic when not needed. The two smaller rooms on either side of the front doors were used for a library and a cloak room.

     The classroom on the north end, which contained a stage, also served as an auditorium for programs. The stage curtain was made of canvas rolled up with ropes. In 1939, Miss Christine Lilly painted a garden scene on the canvas curtain. The restrooms were completed in 1949.

     Buffalo, Flat Rock and Lone Pine Schools in the Buford-Buffalo-Cartney area were originally part of the Norfork School District, but beginning with the 1949-50 school year, the Buford building began operating as the Buford Wing School for grades one through six of the Mountain Home School District.

     In the spring of 1958, the original frame building was purchased and was moved to Mountain Village in Bull Shoals and restored as the Village’s schoolhouse. Sadly, in the fall of 2006, the old school building was consumed by fire and destroyed.

     The 1958-59 school term was the last year students attended the Buford School. The next year all grades were moved to the Mountain Home schools.

     In the mid-1960’s, the Mountain Home School District allowed the vacant building to be used for a community center. After 1983, when the Buford Fire District was organized, the property was deeded to them.

     On Oct. 7, 1992, the Buford School building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2007 and 2008, the Buford Fire Protection District received grants

from the Department of Arkansas Heritage to restore the building to its original state.

     With the completion of a new fire department facility in 2017, the Fire Protection District offered to donate the historic Buford building to the Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society. Members voted to undertake the use and preservation of the schoolhouse and the property was transferred in the summer of that year.

     The Historical Society is working to develop the building into a museum with exhibits exploring early Baxter County rural education and community. We work in cooperation with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, part of the Arkansas Department of Heritage.

     We also continue to make the fine old structure available for event use by local residents. Community organizations and families are invited to schedule programs, meetings, weddings, reunions and other gatherings in which people can enjoy the historical setting as part of their event. Contact and fee information for those interested in using the facility are available on in a separate leaflet.

     Baxter County Historical and Genealogical Society is proud to continue to preserve this structure, and to use The Buford Schoolhouse Museum to help Baxter County citizens and visitors enjoy and appreciate this important part of our local history.