South Carolina Schools In The Early 1900s May Shock You. They're So Different.

In 1915 Julius Rosenwald, the President of Sears & Roebuck, worked with Booker T. Washington to create a matching funds program to improve schools dedicated to rural African Americans throughout the South.

From 1917 to 1932 the Rosenwald program helped to build nearly 5,000 schools, shops and teacherages in the American South. Rosenwald’s Fund required communities to raise part of the capital needed to fund the building projects. Unlike today, where communities vote on tax referendums to build or upgrade schools, South Carolina’s communities, both black and white, voluntarily stepped up to the plate with generous donations for the fund. Nearly 500 new Rosenwald school buildings were erected in South Carolina in the early 1900s.

While this pictorial may illustrate how different schools were in the early 1900s compared to now, it also demonstrates a significant upgrade in the school system for African Americans in the South during a time of racial segregation. Few of the Rosenwald Schools in South Carolina survive. Take a look at some of them as they appear today and in the past.

WIkipedia/kudzuvine

Located in Westminster, SC, the Retreat School was built in 1924 and closed in 1950. This school was among the many Rosenwald schools in the state.

Wikipedia/BigSkyBill

Also known as "Howard Junior High," this four-room school was completed in 1925. Two more rooms were added in the 1930s. It's among the many Rosenwald Schools that served SC in the early 1900s.

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WIkipedia/Bill Fitzpatrick

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SCDAH

A total of 26 Rosenwald Schools were built in Newberry County in the early 1900s. This school, when completed in 1924, replaced the Free Hannah School in town. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Wikipedia/Bigskybill

SCDAH

Shown here in 1935, the Pine Grove Rosenwald School was a three-room building completed in 1923.

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Wikipedia/Bill Fitzpatrick

The Hopewell School was built in 1926 at a cost of $400. It was one of only two schools in McCormick County for African Americans. It closed in 1954 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

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SCDAH/National Register Historic Places

Built in 1925 to serve rural Florence County, this school was phased out in the 1950s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

SCDAH/National Register Historic Places

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Shown above circa 1940 and here from Google Maps streetview, the Great Branch School and Teacherage was one of the first Rosenwald Schools in South Carolina. Unfortunately, the school burned completely in the early 1960s. But the teachers' house remains on the site.

As part of the Rosenwald era, 217 teacherages were built in the U.S.; eight of them were in South Carolina. Reportedly, this is the only one of the eight in South Carolina that survived.

Wikipedia/Gamehope

SCDAH/National Register Historic Places

The Hope Rosenwald School was built in 1925 and employed two teachers. It closed in 1954 and became a community center.

Did you know about the Rosenwald Schools fund and that communities all over rural South Carolina banded together to build schools with better ventilation, better lighting and overall improved learning conditions for African Americans in the community? The program and these buildings are now a huge part of the history of South Carolina.

If you like learning about this era in the history of the Palmetto State, you may enjoy seeing 21 Rare Photos Taken In South Carolina During The Great Depression.