The history of Fulton’s original grammar school is long, varied and continually expanding thanks to community efforts. Currently home to both the county alternative school and IAHS drama department, the old grammar school is constantly being utilized in new ways.

One of the latest ideas is to house a museum of sorts inside its walls — a collection of old photographs and books that could take visitors back through the decades, offering a hint of the location’s past.

To Victoria Blake, IAHS drama teacher, who began utilizing the building’s recently-restored auditorium for performances a few years ago, it’s a fascinating location and one which deserves to be remembered.

“There’s so much history in that building — that’s why it was being saved,” she said, referring to the building’s near destruction following its abandonment in 2000. “What we’d like to do is have a room designated for some old memorabilia — pictures, books or furniture; a place where people can look at the history of the building.”

In order to accommodate this idea, Blake is hunting for old photographs taken at the grammar school: class photos, pictures from plays … anything. She also hopes to acquire a few old desks, bookshelves and books, creating a classroom museum of sorts for visitors to peruse.

“I want there to be a place where people can look at the history of the building,” she said of the idea, which developed after she visited Carolina Community’s recent Heritage Day event. “You could look around and just see how interested people were in all of that history.”

Judge Sharion Aycock, who spearheaded the school’s renovations earlier this decade, recently hung some old grammar school photos on the wall inside the building, and response has been encouraging.

“A lot of people saw family members in those pictures,” Blake said, adding that she’d like to expand the building’s use beyond the occasional play or event, turning it into something the community can really enjoy.

She said less tangible items are welcome as well — things like stories which could be written down and made as part of the museum.

“Write it down and let me have a copy of it. We’ll type it up and put their name on it,” Blake said. “Anything anybody has that they think is interesting to the history of the building we’d love to have. We want to keep those memories alive for future generations to come.

“This is a community building, and we’re trying to come up with ideas to build on that,” she added. “I just think that old stories need to be told.”