Grottoes (Shendun)

 

Shendun was one of the early "planned communities" developed during the "boom years" of the 1890s. The town was planned and developed at Weyers Cave Station (The Grand Caverns were originally known as Weyer's Cave). In 1891, a two-room school was started and called the Shendun school. Official records call the school Shendun until 1912, when the school (and the town) became officially known as Grottoes. The original school served until 1897 when a four-room school building was constructed. The building was built on land deeded to the Stonewall District school trustees by J. D. Wisner and wife on August 25, 1897. The four-room frame building continued to operate until the new Grottoes school was built in 1926. Superintendent George Hulvey planned a new 12 room school to combine Grottoes and Port Republic in 1914 but neither community was willing to give up their school. The Grottoes school offered some high school instruction until the mid-1930s. Grottoes School continued operation until it was combined with Port Republic in 1994 to form South River Elementary School.

Principals at Grottoes (Shendun) are:

1891-92 Joseph T. Maiden

1892-93 J. S. Eaton

1893-94 Charles Lambert

1895-96 James C. Johnston

1896-97 H. J. Sanger

1897-98 Walter S. Whitmore

1898-99 Ernest Crawford

1899-1900 J. F. Blackburn

1900-01 C. B. Willberger

1901-02 Walter L. Key

1902-05 (three sessions) D. B. Mitchell

1905-06 H. S. Strickland

1906-07 Laura A. Keister

1907-10 (three sessions) Nannie Alexander

1910-11 Sue Brown

1911-13 (two sessions) W. H. G. Bowers

1913-14 Will Dunsmore

1914-16 (two sessions) R. J. Turner

1916-17 F. W. Blackburn

1917-18 F. C. Hamer

1918-19 H. C. Bell

1919-20 Emma North

1920-22 (two sessions) J. Galen Wampler

1922-25 Charles E. Hurst

1925-26 Arthur G. Harman

1926-28 (two sessions) G. G. Tanner

1928-29 Joseph K. Funkhouser

1929-31 (two sessions) John B. May

1931-39 (eight sessions) Leonard A. Hollen

1939-49 (ten sessions) W. C. Voorhees

1949-50 Raymond E. Grose

1950-71 (twenty-one sessions) R. V. Long

1971-94 (twenty -three sessions) Gary Shell

Return to the History of Rockingham County Public Schools or the Rockingham County Public Schools home page .