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Historic Schools of Warren County – Rosenwald Schools

ROSENWALD SCHOOLS IN WARREN COUNTY

In 1868, Kentucky's General Assembly passed a law requiring each common school district to establish a school for the education of African American children. In the 1869 Common School Report, Superintendent of Public Instruction A.F. Smith reported four African American schools in Warren County. In four districts a total of 159 students attended the three-month schools. By 1920, Warren County's children were educated in 99 schools, seventeen of which were African American.

The philanthropic interests of Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Co., were numerous. Particularly focused upon rural and agricultural development and better education for African Americans, Rosenwald provided seed money to build over 5,000 African American schools, shops and teacher homes across the southern United States. His School Building Program provided funds for the construction of three modern schools in Warren County.

The Rosenwald Fund also gave dollars to aid in bus transportation of African American children. Though it is not known whether Warren County received any of this money, the school board did have transportation contracts with three individuals in 1928 to take African American students to the Bristow, Delafield and Rockfield schools.

View Warren County's first Rosenwald School opened July 16, 1923 in the Cox Springs District. Reverand H.D. Carpenter, local African American leader and educator, was no doubt the driving force behind the initiative to build the Delafield School. Delafield cost $4,000 to construct with contributions as follows: African Americans $500; public funding $2,800; and Rosenwald $700. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Delafield Rosenwald School, 1923-24 Larger
View The two-teacher facility, located outside the western edge of Bowling Green, had two classrooms measuring 22' x 30', each with its own entrance and vestibule, two cloakrooms and a 12' x 12' community room. (From Rosenwald Schools in Kentucky, 1917-1932 by Alicestyne Turley-Adams, 1997) LargerView Delafield Rosenwald School, 1923-1924 Larger
View Westerfield Cole transported African American students in 1928 to Delafield. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Delafield Rosenwald School, 1923-1924 Larger
View To build the Rockfield Rosenwald School, African Americans contributed $60 of the $2,560 construction cost. Public monies totaled $2,100 with the Rosenwald grant adding $400. In 1928 Hughey Heater contracted to transport African American students on the Plano route to the Rockfield School. (Courtesy of Library Special Collections, WKU) LargerView Rockfield Rosenwald School, 1926-1927 Larger
View The school followed the plan shown for a one-teacher school. The schoolhouse had a 22' x 30' classroom, two cloakrooms, and one community room. Six windows in the rear side of the school provided light for the students. The Rockfield school sat on 2 acres of land. (From Rosenwald Schools in Kentucky, 1917-1932 by Alicestyne Turley-Adams, 1997) LargerView Rockfield Rosenwald School 1926-1927 Larger
View The Bristow Rosenwald School followed the same plan as the Rockfield school for a one-teacher school. The schoolhouse had a 22' x 30' classroom, two cloakrooms, and one community room. Contractor G.H. Tabor constructed the school in 1928 at a total cost of $1,750. African Americans contributed $100, public funding $1,450 and Rosenwald $200. Lucy L. King received the contract in 1928 to transport African American pupils on the route from Plum Springs to the Bristow School. (From Rosenwald Schools in Kentucky, 1917-1932 by Alicestyne Turley-Adams, 1997) LargerView Bristow Rosenwald School, 1928-1929 Larger

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 Last Modified 7/6/21