Murchison School is a historic 1902 school building in

Bennettsville Bennettsville is a city located in the U.S. state of South Carolina on the Great Pee Dee River. As the county seat of Marlboro County, Bennettsville is noted for its historic homes and buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries—including ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. It was designed by Denver architect John J. HuddartHistorical marker
HMDB.org. and named for a merchant who was also the town's first mayor, John D. Murchison (1826–1892). The school was given to the city in Murchison's memory by his widow, former teacher Harriet Murchison Beckwith (1855–1927). The building's style is

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

and includes a central

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

with a

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

tablet over an ornate arched entrance. A marker was added to the building in 2008 by the Marlborough Historical Society (Marker Number 35-35). The school building is one of several historic structures in the area with Shiness (just steps away); the J.F. Kinney House / P.M. Kinney House; Bennettsville Presbyterian Church and Old Female Academy all within several hundred feet. The building is also a contributing property to the Bennettsville Historic District. The building served as an elementary school from 1902 until 1989 (when it closed). In 1918 Bennettsville High School was built next to it. The auditorium has been used for civic events, club meetings, and theater productions. During World War II the auditorium's balcony was renovated to house a dual library for this school and Bennettsville High, after the high school burned. It was later restored to its original appearance.

References

{{Reflist School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Italianate architecture in South Carolina Historic district contributing properties in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Marlboro County, South Carolina