In 1918, the work of consolidation of schools in McDowell County began. Although there was some opposition to the development, the cooperation of forward-looking citizens triumphed over the many difficulties which were encountered.

The first obstacle was the problem of transportation; however, this was the era of the good roads movement in North Carolina. In some communities, consolidation was requested to secure good roads. So consolidation gave an impetus to road building, while good roads, in turn, made consolidation efficient and practical. Through the pooling of material resources, the old, inefficient type of school, with few pupils, one-room buildings and meager equipment, were largely eliminated.

From 1918 to 1928, McDowell County erected ten schools: Glenwood, Nebo, East Marion, Clinchfield, West Marion, North Cove, Eugene Cross, Dysartsville, Pleasant Gardens and Old Fort. Five fully standardized and accredited county high schools were also established, whereas before there was only one high school serving the entire County.

More far-reaching than the external improvements was the improvement in the type and quality of instruction offered. It was also during this time that the length of the school term was changed from eight months to nine months. Further success was realized by the number of high school graduates. In 1927, more students graduated from County high schools than were enrolled in high school before consolidation.

Thus, the dream of reorganizing the entire McDowell County School System with the idea of traning for productive citizenship as its objective was realized.

From the McDowell County Heritage Book, published 1993. Submitted by Diana Byrd McMinn, sources were the NC Teacher, 10/1928 "Consolidation in McDowell"' by Mary Poteat.