806 Barnwell Street
Site of the Bon Air School
This property is the site of the Bon Air School, which operated from 1912 until 1931. The school's founder, Annie Bonham, opened an open-air school at her home on Gervais Street in 1897, teaching outside under the trees when the weather was fair. In 1910, she added an open room to her house that was open on three sides. Two years later, Bonham commissioned a 50-by-35-foot building with three classrooms. Three sides of the building featured panels of glass that could be lowered to within two feet of the floor, creating the illusion of being outside.
Bonham whole-heartedly believed in the benefits of fresh air, according to an article published in The State newspaper in 1912.
I have found and many of the parents have found, since I began teaching entirely in the open air, that the general health of the children has improved perceptibly, and, what do you think, we can positively see that their dispositions are better, too! This is nothing like fresh air, particularly for children, and I have become so convinced of its benefit for the little ones that if I had to deprive them of it in order to teach them, then I would quit teaching. - Annie Bonham, July 31, 1921
Following Annie Bonham's death in 1921, her niece, Roberta Aldrich, continued the school for ten additional years. In 1935, the Bon Air School building was torn down, the lot went up for sale, and a building permit was issued to E. W. Crouch, who constructed the Bon Air Apartments that same year.