Calhoun Colored School

Calhoun School Principal's House
The principal's house at Calhoun Colored School.
Calhoun Colored School is located in Alabama
Calhoun Colored School
Calhoun Colored School is located in the United States
Calhoun Colored School
Map
Interactive map showing the location of Calhoun Colored School
LocationCR 33, Calhoun, Alabama
Coordinates32°3′28″N 86°32′58″W / 32.05778°N 86.54944°W / 32.05778; -86.54944
Architectural styleVictorian
NRHP reference No.76000340[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 26, 1976

The Calhoun Colored School (1892–1945), was a private boarding and day school for Black students in Calhoun, Lowndes County, Alabama, about 28 miles (45 km) southwest of the capital of Montgomery.[2] It was founded in 1892 by Charlotte Thorn and Mabel Dillingham, from New England, in partnership with Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute, to provide education to rural black students. African Americans comprised the majority in this area, and the state had segregated facilities. Calhoun Colored School was first designed to educate rural black students according to the industrial school model common at the time.[3]

In addition, the school sponsored a land bank that helped 85 families buy land. It created a joint venture with the county to improve a local road so farmers could get their products to market. As the school developed, it raised its standards, created a large library, and offered more of an academic curriculum.

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ Ellis, R.H. (1984). "The Calhoun School, Miss Charlotte Thorn's "Lighthouse on the Hill" in Lowndes County, Alabama". The Alabama Review. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  3. ^ "IN AID OF COLORED MEN" (PDF). The New York Times. 1896-01-21. p. 9. Retrieved 2007-10-16.