QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) - A historic school in Quincy, gutted by a fire over the weekend, is bringing back memories for students who went there.
William Stevens High School stood for nearly a century but an early morning fire Sunday destroyed the building in just six hours.
The school was built in 1919, one of the most prominent in the county, and the memories keep coming in.
Today, we talked to Sherrie Taylor, the chair of the Gadsden County Board of Commissioners, who went to the school for six years.
"It was a good, good school, with great staff, teachers, just a good atmosphere, and it's truly going to be missed," said Taylor.
She said that many residents got their start to education at this school.
Taylor said her time at the school was a "great" experience, bringing the community together.
It was later used as a community center for after-school tutoring, music training and arts and crafts.
Before the fire, Taylor said the school housed a museum with local artifacts as well as a barbershop and food bank.
People held family reunions, baby showers and even weddings here, she said.
The property is owned by the board of county commissioners and Taylor said she'd like to bring it back.
"I do know the community probably would like to see something come back, and that is my intention as well, to have this building restored, so that its memories can continue, because they were all great memories at this school," said Taylor.
Taylor said the board of commissioners had received about half a million dollars in grants before the fire to renovate the school but nothing has been decided about how the money will be used now.
As for the cause of the fire, the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office says that is still under investigation.
