An abandoned school left untouched for 50 years has been unveiled in a recent exploration, showcasing signs of decay, misplaced chairs, and graffiti.
Urban explorer Dave, also known as Freaktography, who regularly shares his ventures through eerie and forgotten buildings with his 31,000 TikTok followers, has taken his viewers on a tour of a century-old abandoned school in Upstate New York, US, claiming it to be one of the best abandoned schools he has ever encountered.
In an Instagram clip that has garnered 7,000 views and hundreds of likes, 48-year-old Dave guides his viewers through the premises. Captured images depict a large pile of books and papers left in an alcove, adorned with graffiti reading “YA NERD.” Other snapshots reveal solitary chairs that have been displaced from their original positions and relocated throughout the building, occupying doorways, stairways, and even outside.
One striking image exhibits a spacious hall with collapsed portions of walls and ceiling, alongside scattered broken chairs and discarded books strewn across the floor.
Dave, hailing from Ontario, Canada, shared his experience, stating, “For me, this was a great exploration, and I took my time, as I was in no hurry to leave. I wanted to absorb every room, hallway, and floor, as the decay and ruins were so advanced. It seems that this is the kind of place where several generations of the same families attended the school, often having the same teachers through decades and generations.”
Commenters expressed their reactions, with many reflecting on the building’s former bustling days. One individual noted, “Crazy to think tens maybe even hundreds of thousands of kids once wandered those hallways, and now it’s just a memory.” Another user added, “I dream of discovering a school with old school desks and another blackboard. Another very nice series, Dave, as always. Must have been a nice trip.”
Dating back to 1823, the school underwent various transformations, eventually becoming a two-story building in the 1860s and serving as the first dedicated grade school in Upstate New York in the 1890s. The local school board acquired the land in 1916 and initiated the construction of a high school four years later.
However, the school closed in the 1970s following the construction of a larger nearby school in 1958. Since then, the building has remained abandoned for over 50 years, despite several attempts by the town to restore it to its former glory.
In 2022, plans were proposed to transform the building into a senior center with 47 apartments, with grants totaling $4.6 million (£3.66 million) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and an additional $1 million (£795,800). However, rising renovation costs and extensive unforeseen damage ultimately led developers to abandon the project in February 2023, leaving the building once again in a state of abandonment.
Reflecting on his exploration, Dave shared, “The funny thing about when I explored this abandoned high school is that I was on a three-day road trip with my friend. Throughout the trip, I kept saying, ‘OK, let’s be quick here, we’ve got lots of places to see.’ But as soon as we got in the school, there would be no rushing either one of us, as it was way too good to rush through.”
