Creation of the Community Center

In April of 2000, members of Waynesville's Pigeon Community learned that the Haywood County Board of Education would soon abandon the Instructional Materials Center, a building that was a landmark in the community. The building was constructed in the 1950s to serve as one of two African American schools in Haywood County. It became an important educational, social, and cultural center in the community before it was converted for use as the school system's Instructional Materials Center when Haywood County schools were desegregated in 1964. The club was successful in obtaining a low-cost long-term lease and in 2000 began working to create and host programming for the community at the site.