History

These are words that describe those who set out in 1921 to establish a Christian school in the heart of Appalachia. Elizabeth E. O'Connor started with a one-room elementary school for the local mountain children of a small section of Breathitt County in eastern Kentucky. As a mission of the Free Methodist Church of North America, Oakdale was nationally known as an important outreach to this rugged area.

In those days, the campus was accessible only by foot. A creek bed was the primary passageway. The next 30 years would see a railroad running past campus, and then Highway 52. Anderson Hall, O'Connor Hall, and Rhodes Hall were built during those years.

From the mid 1950s until 1980, Oakdale continued its valued service to not only local children, but to youth from across the United States. Oakdale typically enrolls students now from 12-15 states and 2-4 foreign countries.

Although made independent by the Free Methodist Church in 1968, Oakdale chose to continue to reflect the ideals of the evangelical, Christian foundation, and continue an intentional alignment with its founding denomination.

The ending of the direct involvement and support of the Free Methodist denomination created a period of financial instability. In effect, Oakdale became once again a fledgling institution, facing many of the challenges common to a new organization.