The Henry Timrod School House has sat at Timrod Park in Florence for 74 years.
The one room school was built in 1858 and rested at two other locations before it moved to Timrod Park in 1938.
The school is the namesake of the late Henry Timrod.
He was an educator and poet in Florence.
A monument dedicated to him sits near the school.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy Ellison Capers Chapter 70 donated the school to the Florence County Museum.
Museum officials planned to move the school from Timrod Park to their new location under construction at the corner of Dargan and Cheves Streets in Florence.
The museum wanted to display the school in its courtyard for educational purposes.
"To provide those educational opportunities for children. To have the school house open so that you can go inside. To put furnishings back into the school house where you can experience it as it was during the time it was used as an educational institution," explained Andrew Stout, Florence County Museum.
During a public hearing Wednesday, the City of Florence Design Review Board voted to keep the school where it's been for nearly 75 years.
Residents in Timrod Park believe the board made the right decision saying moving the school would strip the community's identity.
"It's become a fixture and it's a part of the whole of Florence actually. The park is named for the school and the neighborhood adjoining the park is named for the school and it's a part of our identity," said Steven Smith.
"I've been taken back by the sheer sadness so many long term residents have expressed to me over the possible move of the school house from the park," said Jennifer Lee. There's a huge sense of pride that comes over their faces when they reminisce about the Henry Timrod School House."
The little school has a lot of weather related damage and vandalism and isn't open to the public.
City officials say they hope to spend about $20,000 to restore the school house, so that once again residents and tourists can visit it.
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