Bibb City Elementary

Columbus - Muscogee County
c. 1915

The Story

Bibb City Elementary School was constructed in 1915 by the Bibb Manufacturing Company for the children of its employees. It was later brought into the public school system, which later became the consolidated city-county school system of Columbus-Muscogee County. Bibb City is a former company-owned mill village which developed, as many did in the South, around the manufacturing plant that bore its name. Generations of mill workers’ children were educated at the school, and the building carries a strong memory and cultural history for the area.

The Threat

Owned by the Muscogee County Board of Education, Bibb City Elementary is currently vacant and boarded. The physical threat to the building is imminent. Part of the roof has collapsed leaving exposure to a significant portion of the interior. According to architects and school system engineers, the building is at risk of full collapse if the roof continues to deteriorate. Community members fear that the building could be lost soon and local partner groups are rallying support for an adaptive reuse so that the building can once again serve the community.