History

Richfield School was founded in 1895, a wooden structure that was located where Richfield Methodist Church now stands. It was built by George Ritchie, Monroe Ritchie, and Adam Wilhelm so that their children would have a school to attend. Other children were admitted by paying a tuition fee. Adam Wilhelm was the first teacher.

By 1921, there was a movement in the community for a new school. A new site was chosen so that future expansion would be possible. A four-room brick building, financed by the county and independent contributions, was constructed at the present location. A further expansion came in 1927 when an auditorium and four additional classrooms were added.

The school continued to grow as smaller schools were consolidated and the students were brought to Richfield. To meet the needs of the students, three basement classrooms were completed in 1930. Then in 1932, the Richfield school opened a new gymnasium that was made possible by the efforts of Joe Moss, T.B. Mauney, C.B. Misenheimer, A.Z. Culp, and Melvin Taylor, the principal. Eight years later, in 1940, the county purchased the gym from these men for the sum of $1,500, the amount of the original investment.

In 1935, further additions were built that included two wings that extended from the four classrooms and adjoined the auditorium on both sides. At this time, Richfield School was serving students in grades 1-12. There were seven teachers for the first eight grades, and in the high school, there were four allotted teachers plus a vocational home economics teacher and an agricultural instructor.

In the early 1960’s, a decision was made to merge the small community high schools into consolidated high schools. Students in grades 9-12 in the northern attendance district of Stanly County which included Richfield were reassigned to North Stanly High School. This created additional classroom space needed for the growing Richfield student population.

To further update the school and make room for even more students, the old building was removed and a new building was constructed in 1976. This provided up-to-date classroom facilities and a new media center for Richfield students. The school was constructed with an “open-classroom” plan.

As the student population continued to grow, mobile units were purchased to provide necessary classroom space. Additionally, the need for costly repairs became apparent in the cafeteria area as well as the fact that it was much too small for the student body. In 2000, an addition was opened that contained eight additional classrooms, a state-of-the-art cafeteria, and a renovated area for an art room and a multipurpose room.

Our school’s enrollment had grown steadily until the early 2000’s when a new elementary school was built in the northern attendance area and the school system underwent redistricting. The redistricting, as well as the opening of the new school, caused a drop in enrollment. Richfield began operating as a K-5 school in the school year 2010-2011.