Searcy School House, built in 1922 six miles north of Greenville, Alabama, is one of the few original wood-frame school houses remaining in Butler County. Built by men of the community to replace an earlier school that had been consolidated with two other schools, it was considered state of the art for its day. Searcy's original one-room school, fondly called the “Little Red School House,” was established in 1885 by Professor Isaac Ernest Ward, a revered educator and community leader who served as County Superintendent of Education from 1890 to 1898 and was principal of Searcy School for many years. His high educational standards made Searcy one of the best rural schools in Butler County, and the school became the heart of the community, serving as a focal point for literary and musical events, spelling bees, speaking and debating events, plays, parties, and holiday programs. The school closed in 1949 because of a dwindling student population, and the school house was later acquired by the Searcy Homemakers Club, which maintains it for club activities. The Searcy community was settled in the late 1800s and named for James Riley Searcy, who was postmaster in 1885 as well as a constable, merchant, and farmer. Originally called Searcy Station, the community grew up around a depot on the Louisville and Nashville railroad between Montgomery and Mobile. With Professor Ward's outstanding school as a focal point and the railroad providing a major transportation link, Searcy prospered and drew more residents, including families from the nearby Fort Dale and Dead Fall communities on the Federal Road, Alabama Highway 185, who moved to be near the school and railroad. Families who settled there included Cates, Barganier, Day, Harrison, Heaton, Henderson, Hinson, Martin, Mosley, Mullins, and Porterfield, and many remained in the area. The Cates farm, in the same family for more than 200 years, has been recognized as an Alabama Bicentennial Farm, and the Sanders/Barganier farm, in the same family for more than 100 years, has been designated an Alabama Century Farm.