From Vision to State Park: A study of Rosenwald Schools will help determine the viability of a new historic trail.
Speakers, Timika Wilson, Dr. Larry Watson, Dr. Valinda Littlefield, Tripp Muldrow, Holley Springs, and Zach Bjur presented the rich history of the Rosenwald Schools in South Carolina at the 2024 Landmark Conference at SC State University. These early-20th century schools were built to serve rural African American children. Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald helped to ensure that the Black community could have a sustainable network of schools focused on community and education based on a cost shared model with funding from the Rosenwald Fund, the community, and the state. With over 500 schools built in SC, this network has regrettably been lost over time. At least 44 schools remain in some shape or form across SC. The Rosenwald Schools Trail Study seeks to determine whether a set of extant sites could become South Carolina’s first state park focused on African American and Jewish history. The study is a collaborative effort of the Conservation Voters of South Carolina, the WeGOJA Foundation, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, the SC Department of Archives and History, and Rosenwald preservation organizations across the state. The study will focus on six sites: Great Branch Rosenwald School and Teacherage. Lincolnville, Hope School, St. George, Mt. Zion, and Pine Grove.
During the study, the Master Planners and Oral Historian will engage with alumni and community stakeholders to assess site integrity and build a descriptive narrative to design a plan that shares this important history with the public. This 18-month initiative will provide a report that any school and stakeholder could utilize to develop an interconnected trail both virtually and physically highlighting the success of the students and surrounding communities.
Key concerns from participants at the conference included: how other schools may be incorporated and included in a wider trail, what to do if you know a Rosenwald School isn’t depicted, but should be, and how best to assist in this important work. Join our community of volunteers, stakeholders, and advocates at our website for project updates and inquiries.
The Earth Design team traveled to the rural community of Pomaria in Newberry County, SC on its initial site visit to The Hope Rosenwald School. Built in 1925-26 at a cost of $2,900, this restored educational institution symbolizes a pivotal era in African-American education, funded partially by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation between 1917 and 1932. Its establishment on a two-acre lot donated by James H. Hope, Mary Hope Hipp, and John J. Hope reflects the communal dedication to education. Ms. Tenetha Hall has worked tirelessly with local alumni to preserve the school. She met the team to give a thorough tour of the restored school that is now used as a community meeting center.
The school has a two-room layout typical of rural Rosenwald schools in rural areas. The loving restoration appropriately embodies the resilience of African-American communities amidst segregation’s challenges.
Today, The Hope Rosenwald School stands as a proud testament to heritage and community unity, providing a space for gatherings, education, and commemoration within rural Newberry County. It is also represented in the Rosenwald School display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Earth Design, alongside Dr. Val Littlefield and the WeGOJA Foundation recently conducted a visit to the historic Mt. Zion Rosenwald School in Florence, SC, located within the Mars Bluff Community. The team was met by Mr. Terry James and Mr. Frank Cooper. Constructed in 1925, this school holds significant historical importance as the first public school for African American students in the area, funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. Its architectural design, featuring a standard two-classroom plan typical of rural schools built between 1917 and 1932, showcases the foundation’s commitment to providing education opportunities for African American communities across the South that were starved of public funds for education during Jim Crow. Operated on a four- or five-month calendar, with two or three teachers instructing grades 1-6, Mt. Zion Rosenwald School served as a beacon of learning until its closure in 1952.
Despite being unrenovated, the school’s frame structure remains intact, and interiors remain largely intact with chalk writing still on the boards. This unvarnished look at the school provided a profound tangible connection to a pivotal era in South Carolina’s educational history. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, the school stands as a reminder of the Julius Rosenwald Fund’s dedication and the local African American community’s commitment to improving black education in the early to mid-twentieth century.
Rosa Kennerly-Dance is the point of contact for the Great Branch Rosenwald School (1918) and Teacherage (1923). Her passion and commitment is infectious. Earth Design, Inc. Master Planners, Oral Historian, Dr. Valinda Littlefield, and WeGOJA learned quickly that the extensive development of the Rosenwald School site was a community initiative led by alumni, family members, and the local government. The site has original architectural details and and an extensive archive of images of students and events at the school. Articles documenting the renovation of the Great Branch Teacherage are showcased on the walls and in period display cases.
Students, Dorothy Pough Jackson and Delona Jamison Kindell, attended the school until 1954. While the original school burned down in the early 60’s, their memories are vivid from walking to school to eating soup and peanut butter for lunch. Both students stressed that the dedicated educators, distinguished principals, and the Black community ensured students were afforded the best education possible in a time when resources were limited.
Ms. Brenda McGriff along with school alumni and a representative of the Richland County Recreation District welcomed the Earth Design team to Pine Grove School in Columbia, SC on February 27, 2024. Situated within the Pine Grove Community in Richland County and restored in 2006, the Pine Grove School now serves as a learning center for Rosenwald Schools. Built in 1923, the Pine Grove School is a wood-frame, one-story building with a V-crimp tin metal roof, showcasing characteristic elements of Rosenwald school architecture aimed at providing proper ventilation and natural lighting.
The school, the last extant Rosenwald School in Richland County, closed its doors in 1953 due to school consolidation efforts. However, through collaborative funding efforts, including support from the South Carolina Community Competitive Grant Program, Richland County Conservation Commission, and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Preservation Fund, the school was restored to its original configuration in 2006. Recognized with a National Register designation in 2009, the Pine Grove School now serves as a historic community gathering place and offers educational programming focused on the history of African American education in South Carolina.
