Realizing the need for better education in the area, William Creech donated land for Pine Mountain Settlement School, which Katherine Pettit, founder of the Hindman Settlement School, and Ethel De Long Zande opened in 1913. The school developed a tradition of progressive education methods and preserving regional folk arts. A boarding school in its early years, it became a community day school in 1949 and later changed to environmental education in 1972. Architect Mary Rockwell Hook designed the major buildings. The school is a recognized leader in regional reform and is also home to a state nature preserve and is a National Historic Landmark.