Lower Donaldson School was a one-room log structure known as Dixon School, built 350 yards southwest in 1881. After that building burned, a new school was constructed in 1913, and approximately 50 students attended each year. Pupils often competed with other schools in athletic and scholastic matches. The second building withstood the 1937 Ohio Valley flood despite water that reached the eaves. The school operated during seven-month terms that began in July. Lower Donaldson also served as a community center, hosting pie suppers and political meetings. The school closed in 1958, and the building was razed in 1962 after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers bought the property for the Barkley Dam and Lake project.