John Phillips was the first teacher of what would become the South Point School District. Phillips had eight students in a log cabin located near Solida Creek in 1812. Today, South Point School District covers almost all of Fayette Township and parts of Perry Township.
When the county seat moved to Ironton in 1851, the county courthouse at Burlington was used for a school house. Some of the other schools in the district included the White Cottage, Delta, Sheridan, Solida, Red Brick School, Yellow Brick School, Grant, Burlington and Sybene.
White Cottage, located on the corner of Solida and North Kenova Roads, was an elementary school from the late 1800’s to 1940. The school stood across from the White Cottage Cemetery.
Delta School, also known as Greene Delta School, was located on Delta Lane a west of South Point in area named Delta. The school was originally named after a pioneer Elisha Green. In the 1880’s, the original building was replaced by a two story white frame building. It house students from the 1800’s to 1938. After the school was abandoned, it disintegrated rapidly. By the early 1940’s, the school had collapsed.
The Red Brick School stood on the site of the South Point Elementary Number 1. The building was used as a village hall until 1888. In 1926, the building burned to the ground and was replaced by the Yellow Brick School.
Sheridan School was another two-story frame building. The original building was replaced in 1944 by brick building and in 1949 was expanded. When the land was sold by the school district it was bought by Rollyson Aluminum.
In 1913, South Point Delta High School opened its doors. The school has the honor of the being the first high school outside of Ironton in Lawrence County. Originally, housed in the Odd Fellows Hall on Ferry Street, Fred Brammer taught classes in 1913. In 1914, the school moved across the street to the Masonic Temple. Frank Kelly became the new teacher. $12,000 was spent to build an actual high school building in 1916 and V. F. Dillon was principal. The school saw it first graduates in 1918 when nine students graduated.
In 1936, a wing was added to the high school. The new wing included four classrooms, a gym, a basement, locker rooms, offices, and rest rooms. The addition cost $90,000.
In 1944, the Yellow Brick School, which replaced the Red Brick School, was expanded. The expansion cost $50,000.
In 1949, $650,000 was raised to build a new high school building. That same year the Sybene Grade School and the Sheridan School expanded as well.
In the late 1950’s, two new elementary schools were added to the district. The new schools were located at South Point and Burlington.
This building was replaced in less than forty years, when a $4 million levy passed to build a new high school. The newest high school eventually cost $3.7 million and opened in 1983. That same year the old high school became the middle school.
Currently, the South Point School District is building a new high school and middle school.
