Several small private high schools were in existence for a few years during an era when high schools were almost non-existent in the county. The Altamont School was the brainchild of three men who, in 1894, were anxious for their children to receive a higher education: Andrew Morgan "Boggie" Groff, Fergus Ferguson "Ferd" Disharoon, and J. A. "Parson" Miles. They decided to put up the capital for the land and building and to charge tuition, using the fees collected to pay the teacher's salary. It was located in the Gray Summit area on the Groff property but only existed for four years. The first year, it was taught by Bertie Sweet. E. C Rohrbach taught the remaining three years. A charming account of the four years of Altamont School can be found in the book, Diamond Dust, whose author is listed as "The Salvager," but who was obviously one of the Groff children, probably Spencer Groff. According to the book, this school served the Groff, Disharoon, Miles, Sweet, Bannon, Lay, Triplett, Rutherford, Peanick, Stanley, Tyler, and Davies familes.