The first school in the Cirtsville area was located just across the road from where the last Cirtsville school stood. It was a small log building built on land given by Madison Williams. Mr. Williams was the leader of the move to establish a school in the community. When the building was completed, they were unable to find a teacher for the school. Mr. Williams took charge and served as teacher until they found a teacher.

Curtis Vass, the man for whom Cirtsville was named, was one of the early teachers of the Cirtsville school. Not only did he teach at Mr. Williams' school but he also married his daughter and was for many years a resident of Cirtsville.

After a few years the little log schoolhouse was too small to accommodate the children of the community. A larger log building was built at Cirtsville on the spot later occupied by the Spangler Mill. When the mill moved in, a framed building was built across the creek from the mill near the Amos Williams' store and that one-room school was sufficient for the needs of the community for 20 years. When a two-room school was built on the same spot, it served the people of Cirtsville until 1921 when a four-room building was built midway between Maynor and Cirtsville and a junior high came into existence.

The first principal of the Cirtsville Junior High was Mr. E. J. Wauhop. He was a very energetic man and worked hard to build up the school. He was successful in getting several of the larger boys of the community interested in attending the school. He organized basketball teams for both boys and girls and for several years Cirtsville was noted for its basketball teams.

In 1924 we were successful in getting a gymnasium built for the basketball teams and for several years we were able to have winning teams for both boys and girls. Cirtsville won several trophies in tournaments and in 1924. was able to defeat Woodrow Wilson High School in basketball.

For several years the pupils of the Cirtsville school were able to complete all their high school up to the twelfth grade at the Cirtsville school. Then they would attend the Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley for their senior year. We had two boys that completed all their high school work at Cirtsville and graduated with the Woodrow Wilson class. When the hard-surfaced road was completed from Cirtsville to Beckley. the county school officials ruled that high school students of Cirtsville should be taken by school bus to Beckley. Cirtsville School was reduced to grade school until 1978 when the large grade school building was completed at Bradley and the Cirtsville School was discontinued. In 1980 the Cirtsville school building was destroyed by fire and all the Cirtsville people have now is memories of greater days.

In the early years of the communities of Upper Paint Creek, there were one-room schools in every community. On Dixon Branch, there was a school known as the Dixon Branch School. This school started In 1908 and was discontinued in 1923. At the head of Simms Branch was the Craddock School named for Jimmy Craddock who gave the land for the school. Up Maple Fork was another one-room school located on the spot that is now the Paul Roop residence. In Maynor at the mouth of Laurel Branch was the Laurel Branch School. At Sweeneyburg were two one-room schools, the Isaac Bailey School and the Speed Harper School. Farther up the creek towards Harper was the Rucker School. Later there was a two-room building there and it was the Rock School. On South Sand Branch were two one-room schools, one located where the Appalachian Bible College now stands known as the Jim George School and one farther down the creek known as the Thompson School. The people of Upper Paint Creek were interested in the education of their children and tried to the best of their abilities to provide them with schools but the system of consolidation came into effect and all the one-room schools are gone.