Valley Rewind: Clear View Elementary

In this photograph from around 1945, students, parents, and teachers from Clear View Elementary (also known as Carver Elementary School) in the Cragmont area of Black Mountain have their picture made in front of the school bus as they prepare to leave for a field trip. Prior to the 1940s, the two-room school was built in the present location of Black Mountain Montessori (10 Carver Ave). In 1942, the building was replaced by a stone structure. Then, in 1951, the present-day brick building was constructed. Carver Elementary closed in 1966 when Black students integrated Black Mountain Elementary. The building later became the Carver Community Center, eventually housing Black Mountain’s Parks and Recreation Department. After the town purchased a new space for the department in 2018, Black Mountain Montessori began to occupy most of the building. Today, in addition to the school, the back wing of the building is rented by an elementary after-school arts program. Black Mountain Montessori maintains a library and multipurpose room named the “James Room” in honor of Carver’s former principal, C.U. James, and to recognize the building’s roots as a center for African American education.