Without written records, it has been determined that the first school, a one room log hut, in the vicinity of Deer was located about two miles southwest of the present highschool. This school was in operation from the 1880's to about 1910. By 1895 the school had existed for several years. It eventually closed, and the students went to Hickory Grove or Deer.
In 1903 a new one room frame school was constructed, and J.W. Brazel was the first teacher in this building. This building served its purpose well into the mid twenties. Shcool population was growing, and in 1926 a curtain was put across the room, thus making two rooms. Two teachers, Duster Sutton and hif wife Clydus, were employed as teachers. In 1927 a second troom was builtr, and thos two rooms were used as classrooms until 1964 when the building was torn down. the rooms were identical. Each had a belfry, located over a small room, which also werved as a cloak room.
By the late 1920's, roads and transportation had improved, so the legislature advocated and passed laws mandating the consolodation of small schools. In 1929 the folloowing schools consolidated to from the deer Consolidated School: Deer, Hickory Grove, Mineral springs, Cross Roads, Gum Spprings, Pleasant Hill(cowell) and Lurton. A new school with sex rooms and an auditorium was completed in the late fall of 1930. The full term of 1930 had started in August. Some of the high school classes were held at Cross Roads and Cowell.
In 1948 an initiated act was passed by the people of Arkansas which stated that a school with fewer than 350 students had to consolidate with another district. With the passage of this act, the schools of the southern part of Newton County were brought into the Deer School system. To the original seven schools that made up the Deer district the following schools were eventually added: Macedonia, Cooper's Bluff, Chancel, Red Rock, Wayton, Union Grove, Swain, Walnut, Limestone, Moore, Sandy Gap, Oak Grove, Mossville, and Shiloh. A few of these schools maintained a school for lower elementary grades, called wing schools, for a few years. The upper elementary and high school students were transported to Deer. In 1961 the last wing school, Lurton, was brought to Deer.
A new six room elementary school was built in 1948. A vocational agriculture building had been built in 1941-42. The community building was finished in 1969. January 1, 1970, the original high school building burned. This was replaced the next year with the gymnasium and cafeteria under the same roof. The old gym was finished in 1945 and was torn down in 1972. A new elementary building was completed in 1967 with the last four rooms added in 1985. The present vocational building was completed in the 1986-87 school year.
The information used on this page was obtained at the Deer School Home Page at www.antlers.com