School to Community Center: A Community's Heart

In 2000, the Pigeon Community Development Club formed for the purpose of creating and managing a community center at the site of the former school that served the Waynesville African American community prior to the desegregation of Haywood County Schools in 1964.

The Club was successful in securing a long-term lease for the building, calling it the Pigeon Community Center. The organization began a robust effort to host programming that benefits the Pigeon Community and the Haywood Community at large. 

This exhibit will explore the creation of the center, its successes in creating popular programming to serve the community, and its impact on the greater Waynesville area.