Rosenwald Schools

[Diane Merkel]

A gentleman is trying to locate Florida's Rosenwald Schools for the Bureau of Historic Preservation in Tallahassee. According to the holdings at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, the Rosenwald Fund helped build five schools in Walton County: Black Branch, Bruce Creek, DeFuniak Springs (Tivoli), Mt. Zion, and St. Johns. His research indicates that the 6-teacher type building constructed at DeFuniak Springs (Tivoli) in 1923/1928 has been demolished.

I told him that Tivoli still exists as the headquarters for our school district although I am not sure if the original six-room structure is part of the complex. I quoted him the following section of a presentation given by Annie Ruth Campbell:

Prior to the location of the school [Tivoli] at Thomas Avenue and Park Street, classes were held in a house built by Ike McKinnon and Columbus Gipson. McKinnon donated land, materials and labor for the Nelson Avenue structure. . . . The four room school [on Park Street], built by the local school board, was later expanded by the addition of two more rooms. During several subsequent administrations, as black schools throughout the county were phased out, five brick buildings were erected on the site.”

He sent me the following photograph that he believes may be the original Tivoli building on Nelson Avenue (not the current location) that Annie Ruth mentioned.



He sent a map of DeFuniak Springs, showing the “footprint” of Tivoli in 1929. Here's the link:
http://https://waltonpast2present.com/MessageBoards/DFS1929.pdf

He also sent a photo of a typical four-teacher, wood-frame Rosenwald school.


Typical Rosenwald School: This is most likely how Tivoli would have looked in the 1920s.

He would like to identify the locations of the other schools.

Black Branch; 1-teacher; 1922
Bruce Creek; 2-teacher; 1928
Mt. Zion; 2-teacher; 1928
St. Johns; 1-teacher; 1928

I was able to find mentions of two of them in The Heritage of Walton County, Florida with very general location information:

• Mt. Zion (1917-1967) - in the Paxton/New Harmony area
  
• Bruce Creek (1915-1954) - Argyle south through Red Bay, Seven Runs, and east to Holmes County

If the buildings have been demolished, he would appreciate knowing their approximate location by highway number and/or area of the county.

For more about Rosenwald schools, see:

savingplaces.org/places/rosenwald-schools#.YeShVP5MFD8

I found a map on the Baker Block Museum website of all of the schools in Walton County in 1936. All of the Rosenwald schools are on the map. (Tivoli is shown as "DeFunak Springs.")

waltonpast2present.com/MessageBoards/w1936schools.jpg

Please post any information you may have. No amount is too small.

Thank you!

Diane




HD#29

[drbmcga]

While not one of the Rosenwald Schools, Arcadia School was one of the county schools that will soon be just a memory. My great grandfather William Lincoln Mathews sold the county the property for Arcadia school and then purchased it back after it was no longer used as a school. He renovated it as a home for his family and my dad was reared there and he attended school at Arcadia the final year that it was a school (before the children were bused to other schools). My Aunt Ruby Mathews (daughter of William Lincoln) lived in the renovated building until her death in 1985.

[Diane Merkel]

That is wonderful information!

Do you know if anything is left of the building? If so, I would like to see it and at least take a photograph of it.

Thank you for sharing!

Diane

[pastorp]

I pastor a church that once served as a Rosenwald school, St John Missionary Baptist Church. The structure is standing and being used>

[Diane Merkel]

Thank you for sharing that information. It's good to know that the building is still being used and for a great purpose!

Best wishes,
Diane