During the late 1800s and very early 1900s, the schools in Stanly County were primarily one and two-room classroom buildings. As the county began to grow due to the increase in railroad traffic and expansion of the textile mills, school officials began to see the need to modernize the area’s school buildings. Many of the schools were consolidated into bigger and better buildings. This action led to the distance students were required to travel to and from these new buildings to grow. Due to these changes, a need for improved student transportation had become evident. Local repair shop owner J.E. Redwine began to build school buses at his business, Albemarle Repair Shop, that was located in East Albemarle. Today’s picture, courtesy of the Redwine family, shows what is believed to be the very first school bus used in Stanly County. {Lewis Bramlett – Stanly County Historical Society}