Historic Paint Rock Valley High School, a mountaintop school in northeast Alabama closed in 2018 by declining enrollment, will reopen as a “communiversity” for new owner Alabama A&M University (AAMU) and shared by residents and the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, the university says.

The Jackson County Board of Education voted in June to transfer to predominantly Black AAMU the mountain school known for being built in the 1930s of stones carried to the site by residents and boards made from trees by local saw mills to assure the mountain’s children an education close to home. Its first year of operation was 1935.

Details of AAMU’s plans were released Thursday. AAMU President Daniel K. Wims thanked the school board for donating the school and said, “This collaboration will allow us to expand the university’s curricular instruction with programs like forestry and animal science, as well as community engagement through the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and other organizations.”

AAMU Board of Trustees executive committee member Richard Crunkleton, a Huntsville commercial realtor, visited the property and considers it a solid facility, the announcement said, although some upgrades will be necessary. “Paint Rock provides a great community opportunity in a location where AAMU does not have a strong presence,” Crunkleton said. “It also provides a chance for greater collaboration between AAMU, Auburn and other universities, particularly where agribusiness ventures are concerned.”

“The Jackson County Board of Education is excited about the possibilities this joint venture will bring to our county,” Jackson County Board of Education President Chad Gorham said. “This partnership allows students from all over Jackson County and beyond to explore, experience and learn in one of the most beautiful areas in the state. It will also breathe new life into the Paint Rock Valley community.”

Gorham called the school “much-loved” and he hopes county residents will feel even more connected to project.

Roderick Watts, president pro tempore of the AAMU trustees board, said the school is a “great opportunity for the university to impact the immediate community and to give students an experience they’ve never had before, such as camping.

“The community and the educational opportunities that Paint Rock will afford are endless,” Watts said.