The doors of the old, stone-structured Ages Elementary School closed roughly two decades ago, and a Head Start that occupied the building up until about two months ago has relocated.

But the vacant structure is anything but empty. It's full of memories - recollections of caring teachers, classmates, old-fashioned games and Halloween festivals. A handful of former students can detail events of the school and community staple that span back to the completion of its construction in 1936.

And they have formed a preservation committee in the hopes that they can prevent the historical structure from disappearing altogether after learning that it lies in a flood plain.

On Wednesday, members of the Ages-Brookside Schoolhouse Preservation Committee met with county officials, state Rep. Brandon Smith and a representative of Congressman Hal Rogers at the schoolhouse.

“You're not talking about a building, but an institution this community has built,” Smith said.

Nick Rouse, flood plain coordinator for Harlan County, presented a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) flood map of the county to those in attendance, including Jenny Huddleston of Rogers' Somerset office.

Rouse said there is a good chance that most, if not all, of the building and its Italian-cut stonework can be preserved. That's because the old schoolhouse, while in a flood plain, is not in a “floodway” - the path of flood waters. Construction is not permitted in a floodway, whereas it is in a flood plain by elevation, which is an option in the case of the Ages schoolhouse.

Several suggestions have been tossed about as to what purposes the building could serve, such as providing a community park, museum, training facility or shelter area.

Rouse said a facility that would allow “a flow through” the structure in the event of flooding, such as a picnic shelter, could increase the chances of saving the building, constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program created in 1935 to help provide jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression.

“This is one of the very few WPA projects left in the entire country,” said Harlan attorney Gayle Huff, an Evarts High School graduate who attended first through eighth grades at the Ages school.

“It's like Stonehenge, unless the Corps takes it out,” he said.

One of the stone masons of the building was John Bianchi, the father of longtime funeral home operator Lewis Bianchi and grandfather of Harlan County Coroner Philip Bianchi. John Bianchi is remembered for meticulously carving the rocks gathered from Ages Creek.

“I think those efforts should be applauded. More and more you see people wanting to preserve what history is around their communities,” Philip Bianchi said.

Bianchi said his grandfather, who died before he was born, helped to construct several other structures that are still standing in Harlan County, including the Church of the Resurrection in Lynch. That those buildings are still standing shows “the quality of work” that went into constructing them, he said.

Britt Lewis, also a former Ages student, said the craftsmanship of the building is “unbelievable.” He said the elementary school was one of the “nicest in the county,” with indoor plumbing and central heat. At one time, there were more than 400 students at the school, he said.

“There's a special bond with these people that don't happen in a lot of places,” he said. “We have to save our history. ... We need to hold on to that.”

A new addition to the schoolhouse in 1952, which expanded the grades from first through sixth to first through eighth, was the only part of the building affected by the flood of 1977. Huff and others have said water from the nearby Clover Fork of the Cumberland River reached the newer section of the building because of backwash.

“The water couldn't get out of here quick enough,” he said. Even so, the flooding was minimal and there was no damage.

“We just had to wash it out a bit,” said Junior Deaton, a 1940 eighth-grade graduate of the Ages school and a columnist for the Enterprise.

“We're not looking at a school ... only a community place for the kids and residents of Ages-Brookside,” Huff said.

The preservation committee, formed in June after learning of the building's possible demolition, has collected signatures from several former students and residents of Ages-Brookside. Names and addresses, several from Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and at least one from Arizona, fill pages of a petition opposing demolition.

Many of those who signed the petition have been faithful in returning to their roots. This Labor Day weekend, more than 300 returned for the 11th annual Ages-Brookside Reunion at the schoolhouse. Tents were placed on a large, level space of land behind the schoolhouse, and tours of the building were available.

David Lewis, also an Evarts High School graduate who attended first through eighth grades at the Ages school, said a portion of the building was used for the reunion. When the KCEOC (Kentucky Community Equal Opportunity Council) Head Start relocated to Verda, water at the facility was disconnected. He said fiscal court was instrumental in helping to reconnect the service in time for the reunion.

Representing Congressman Rogers, Huddleston said the first priority in attempting to save the building should be to contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to learn what options are available to the county. She asked if the group had already contacted the Corps and was informed that Harlan County Judge-Executive Joe Grieshop has had some correspondence with officials.

“I understand this is a pillar of the community. Today is about seeing what we can do and how to approach the Corps,” she said.

The fact that the building is one of the few WPA projects still standing is alone “worth trying to preserve,” Huddleston said. Funding would likely be available for preservation efforts if the building remains standing.

Grieshop said the structure will undergo an asbestos abatement later this month. He said he feels the Corps of Engineers is willing to work with the county and listen to the concerns of locals.

“I think (the Corps) have to feel right ... to justify that this makes sense,” Grieshop said.

A phone call to the Corps of Engineers was not returned on Wednesday.