What Hartsville's Ward School Will Finish by December 31, and What Has to Wait

"Due to several project delays, the full renovation is not going to be completed as originally planned," Trousdale County Mayor Jack McCall told the newly seated county commission this fall, as the Lebanon Democrat reported. "The project has a firm completion date of Dec. 31. We will move forward with completing as much of the project with this initial grant as we possibly can."

That leaves about seven weeks. When the deadline comes, the two-story building at 113 Hall Street will not open as the community services hub the county applied for. What the county is finishing is the base layer: a sound roof, new windows and floors, working restrooms, and the broadband room at the center of the grant. That work protects a 1948 building and makes the next round of funding possible. The planned nature trail is the piece that connects Ward School to downtown Hartsville.

The Numbers That Set the Year-End Scope

The project is paid for by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development's Connected Community Facilities grant. The county applied for $2 million, expecting a local match of $200,000. After architecture and other fees were added, the match grew to $313,000, according to earlier Lebanon Democrat coverage.

Then the bids came in.

Add the $2 million grant, the state's extra $1 million and the $600,000 match together and you get $3.6 million, close to the single bid. But taking it would have meant a second local match on top of the $313,000 already planned. The mayor said the county does not have the money for that additional match.

So the scope shrank to what the original grant can cover before December 31. The county is working with the Greater Nashville Regional Council and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to finish five items:

• Roof
• Flooring
• Windows
• The broadband room
• Downstairs restrooms

Once those are done by year's end, McCall said, the administration will seek other grants to complete the project. Most of the list keeps weather out of a historic building. The broadband room keeps the project tied to the purpose of the grant that paid for it.

From a 2024 Resolution to a Year-End Deadline

The current phase is the latest step in a process that started well before this fall.

1. August 26, 2024. The county commission approved a resolution to acquire Ward School. It provides that once the grant project is complete, the county would transfer the property, its maintenance and the grant responsibilities to a qualified 501(c)(3).
2. November 22, 2024. The county asked for qualifications from architects and engineers to design the renovation and oversee construction.
3. February 2026. Commission minutes reported that Public Works had cleaned out the building and was getting it ready for renovation. Bids were expected by the end of March, and the grant deadline was listed as December 31.
4. July 27, 2026. The mayor told the commission that bids for the Historic Ward School project were being reviewed that week and that the work was "on a fast track to complete this project by the end of the year."
5. Fall 2026. The mayor's report cut the scope to the five items above.

In February, the county expected bids within weeks and a full renovation by December 31. By fall, the same deadline covered five items.

What the Finished Building Is Meant to Hold

The county's 2024 solicitation spelled out the goal: renovate the Historic Ward School "to create space for digital access, telehealth rooms, large meeting space, and private offices." At an earlier commission work session, according to the Lebanon Democrat, the plan was described as a hub for nonprofits and community services, run by a 501(c)(3) once it is complete.

The model is close by. The same coverage said the project would follow the Gallatin Shalom Zone, which grew out of a converted high school. It offers free programs for children, youth and families, and rents office space to nonprofits at or below market value. McCall noted that Maury County received a similar grant and is following the Gallatin approach too.

Commissioner Landon Gulley summed up the case at that session:

"I think it is a very small cost at $313,000 for what we can get out of it."

Telehealth rooms, offices and the large meeting hall are what still need money after December 31. The broadband room is the one piece of that plan arriving this year.

Why the Roof Comes First on Hall Street

Ward School holds more history than most buildings in the county. Its roots go back to a school funded through Julius Rosenwald and completed around 1922, named for the Rev. Walter Ward. That building burned in 1944. Its replacement, the concrete-block building standing today, was finished in 1948 and first taught grades one through nine. By 1952 it was a four-year high school and the only place in the county where Black students could attend high school.

The Tennessee Historical Commission's National Register nomination places its period of significance between 1948 and 1966, the year schools integrated. Ward School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 20, 2020. It was more than a school. The nomination describes it serving as a community center and meeting hall, and later housing a Head Start program and public offices.

That history explains the order of the work. Ward alumni and the Ward School Community Preservation Association took part in preservation planning in 2018, and the association later agreed to donate the property to the county for this grant project. The 2024 solicitation also noted that any required historic preservation would have to be addressed. When the money covers only part of the job, a new roof and windows are what keep a 78-year-old building ready for the rest.

The Trail That Ties Ward School to Downtown

The part of the project residents will eventually walk is on a separate track with separate money. At the July 27 commission meeting, the mayor described a 13-acre nature trail connecting Ward School to downtown. It will include the trail itself, historic markers, rest areas and public amenities, paid for by non-matching grants "at no cost to the county." The money comes from a ThreeStar grant and an America 250 grant, which the mayor's fall report called the Tennessee 250 Project. That report said a qualified engineer should be identified soon.

Because the trail needs no local match, it is the only part of the Ward School plan that doesn't depend on the county finding more money. It also points Hall Street toward a downtown with momentum of its own. In the same report, McCall said Top Hog BBQ owner David Apollos is still building his future downtown restaurant and adding parking, calling it a step toward anchoring "another restaurant to the downtown area."

On October 24, the Downtown Hartsville Revitalization Commission brought its Goose Gala back downtown to the historic Holder Tobacco Warehouse. The Lebanon Democrat reported that the event drew its largest number of corporate sponsors and table hosts so far, with more than 400 seats purchased or supported. Proceeds go to the commission's downtown improvement work. Amy and Tom Broyles of Hartsville Pharmacy received the E.J. Parker Leadership Award, and Kathy Atwood was named Ray Miller Citizen of the Year.

The next big date downtown comes before the Ward School deadline. The Hartsville-Trousdale County Christmas Parade, sponsored and organized by the Hartsville-Trousdale Chamber of Commerce, is set for Saturday, December 12. The Lebanon Democrat reported that the 2025 parade had more than 180 entries and that organizer Racheal Petty, a Chamber board member, has run it for 15 years over a route that stays the same each year. Nineteen days after the parade, the grant phase at 113 Hall Street reaches its deadline. That leaves a sealed, wired building ready for the next round of funding and a funded trail that will eventually connect it to the same downtown streets the parade uses.

If you live near Hall Street or downtown and want to talk through how projects like Ward School and the nature trail fit into Hartsville's next few years, I'm always glad to share what I'm seeing locally. Stacey Long is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.