The Reynolds School
The Reynolds School was founded by its namesake, Dr. Reynolds, in Canton in 1924. The original structure was a two room building. Several years after its completion, the school burnt down. Afterwords, school was held in the basement of Pleasent Grove Baptist Church. In 1948, a new brick building for Reynolds was built in the Gibson Town community in Canton. Reynolds was 1st-12th with half of the building being for high school classes, and the other half for lower grades. Sixteen classes graduated from Reynolds School before it closed in 1966 due to the integration of Haywood County Schools.
The school sat in disrepair until it was purchased in 2013 by former student and Canton native, William McDowell, who is married to MoTown legend, Gladys Knight. The Reynolds High School Community Foundation hopes to raise $5000 and transform the old school into a community center. The comunity center will function as a food pantry and will also provide childcare, substance abuse counseling, and music instruction. In addition, the site will feature exercise and performing arts facilites available to the public. The estimated date of completion is slated for 2019.