The two-story building next to St. Paul CME Church initially served as a lodge. Built in 1870, the building is believed to have ties to the prominent Dickson (Amanda America Dickson Toomer) and Hubert families of Hancock County.
In the early 1950s, it served as a school after a nearby one had burned. The building was no longer used once school consolidation was implemented in the late 1950s.
Built in 1924, the Catawba School is a Rosenwald School in York County, South Carolina. This two-teacher type school was built for $3200. It was one of at least 22 schools built in the county to educate the Black children of the county. It stayed open until 1956. This is one of two documented schools still standing and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018, the Carroll School sits in York County, South Carolina. The three-teacher type Rosenwald school stayed open until 1954. Restored within the last few years, the Rock Hill school district uses it as a place to educate fifth-grade students about segregation and education in South Carolina.
Clarke County
Some of you may know this building in Athens as the Hawaiian Ha-le Club. It’s one of the places the B-52s identified as an inspiration for their song, ”Love Shack” and the lyric, “Tin roof, rusted!” They mention it in several interviews over the years. More importantly, this is the only remaining Rosenwald School in Clarke County, Georgia. My research had led me to believe they had all been demolished. That’s the case with many Rosenwald Schools, the history gets lost until someone shares the connection. Originally called County Training School (a common name for Rosenwald Schools), the school’s name changed to the Judia Jackson Harris School. Judia Jackson Harris was an early Black educator who worked to raise money to build this school after the original school burned. Historic Athens recently named this as a Place in Peril. This school needs to be saved.
Built in 1937 by the Black community, this school was in use until 1963 when it consolidated with another Pulaski County school. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
The front facade of the Leighton County Training School sits just off the edge of town in Leighton, Alabama. It was a five-teacher type school built by Rosenwald funds. Built in 1928 for $10950, it served the Black community until 1970. It closed and reopened as the local middle school. It stayed open until 1994.
Singer Percy Sledge is a graduate. It’s on the Alabama Historical Register.
