First Rosenwald School - Loachapoka, AL
Posted by: 
xptwo
N 32° 36.192 W 085° 36.322
16S E 630866 N 3608157
This two-sided marker in Loachapoka, Alabama, tells the history of the first of 5,300 Rosenwald schools for black children to be built.
Waymark Code: WMHPR8
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 08/01/2013
Views: 10
Located on Stage Road (Alabama Highway 14) in Loachapoka, Alabama, the marker tells the story of the first of the Rosenwald Schools to be built, as well as the history of the program.
The text of the marker reads:
First Rosenwald School
On this site once stood the first of over 5,300 Rosenwald schools for black children built between 1913 and 1932. The schools were started in a collaboration between Julius Rosenwald, CEO of Sears, Roebuck, and Company and Booker T. Washington, Principal of Tuskegee institute. The dedication was held on May 18, 1913. Rosenwald grew up poor and believed in self-help; consequently, he paid for only part of the expenses to build the schools. The rest was to be raised by community members, both black and white. All of the schools were built from a selection of plans designed by an architect at Tuskegee Institute.
(Continued on othe side/Continued from other side)
The first teacher at the Loachapoka school was L. Pearl Rouseau. Initially, there was no principal; the school was overseen by the State. The initial school year lasted only three months; the second was expanded to nine months. Basic courses in reading and arithmetic were taught in the one-room building, with no power or plumbing. Rosenwald gave three hundred dollars toward the school, and the remainder of the total cost of nine hundred forty-two dollars and forty-six cents was given by local residents, both black and white, along with the labor. This school was the only source for educating black citizens in the area. It closed in the late 1950s.
Erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission
and
Lee County Historical Society
2011
Marker Name: First Rosenwald School
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
The original site was located next to Mount Zion Church. The marker was placed along the road near the church.
Date Dedicated / Placed: November 12, 2011
Marker Number: None
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Visit Instructions:
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