During the early 20th century, black children in the South were required to attend segregated schools, and public education for them was underfunded.

At a time when racial segregation was common in America, a white hand reached across the barriers of ethnicity and opened the door for black children to receive a formal education.

Philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, at the urging of his friend, Booker T. Washington, became the founder of the Rosenwald Rural School Building Program, which focused on the construction of schools, shops and homes for teachers primarily for the education of black children. The Rosenwald schools represent an important chapter in the nation's history.

While some of the schools and buildings are still functional today, many have disappeared with the passing of time, and others are in need of extensive repairs. Efforts to preserve the buildings and the history that surrounds them are now being made across the nation, and in the Great Branch community of Orangeburg County, a Rosenwald teacherage restoration project is underway.

Click here for slideshow.

It has been nearly two years since restoration efforts began, and project supporters say the exterior of the Great Branch teacherage is now complete. A fund-raiser fish fry to collect money for the interior work is set for Saturday, June 21.

Rosa Kennerly is the moving force behind the Great Branch Teacherage Restoration Project. A retired assistant superintendent of instruction and educational programs with Orangeburg Consolidated School District Four, Kennerly is devoting her time and energy into transforming the Great Branch teacherage into a welcome center for the community.

Kennerly said the teacherage restoration wasn't something she had planned to do upon retirement.

"I was involved with the community center that is located on the property where the Great Branch School once stood," she said.

The Great Branch Rosenwald School was built in 1922 and burned by arsonists in the 1950s.

"I inquired about the fate of the old house located on the property

and learned that it was originally built in 1924 or (19)25 as a home for the teachers who taught at the school," Kennerly said. "The more I learned about the Rosenwald school building project, the more I wanted to know, and somehow, I caught the vision of restoring the historic house."

One person who can speak of the importance of the project is Rivannah Thomas Jones, who taught at the Great Branch Rosenwald School for two summers and a school year in 1945 and 1946. She also lived at the Great Branch teacherage with the then-principal and his wife.

"I haven't been in the building since they started the work," Jones said of the restoration. "I think it's great, really, what they're doing."

A graduate of South Carolina State College with a degree in home economics, Jones said she assisted parents with canning homegrown fruits and vegetables in the cannery on the grounds of the Rosenwald school during the summers. During the school year, she taught fifth- through eighth-graders a variety of subjects.

"Believe it or not, I enjoyed it," she said of her year teaching. "That was my first full-time job. I was inexperienced, but you got a lot of help. Just visiting with the parents after school with the children -- I enjoyed it.

"It (Rosenwald schools) took students out of the churches and put them into a school where they were divided according to grades, even though some rooms had two or three grades. ... I think they learned more. I think the behavior was better."

Kennerly credits Frank Young and Jervey Kennerly, life-long residents of the Great Branch community and former students of the Great Branch Rosenwald School, with planting the seed in her heart to go forward with the teacherage restoration.

"Mr. Young and Mr. Kennerly sought information through the South Carolina (Department of) Archives and History office in Columbia and worked closely with Leah Brown to learn its history and significance," Rosa Kennerly said. "They learned that the National Trust for Historical Preservation had identified all of the Rosenwald schools and associated buildings as 'endangered.' (An) application was made, and the Great Branch teacherage was eventually placed on the National Register of Historic Places."

Intensive research proved the historical importance of the Great Branch teacherage, and Young and Jervey Kennerly found community members to help restore and preserve the house.

A steering committee, which includes Rosa Kennerly, Young, Jervey Kennerly, Eartha Amaker, Ruth Waller and Bernard Bowman, was formed, and funding sources were sought.

"A $25,000 grant from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism was obtained through the efforts of Sen. Brad Hutto and Rep. Jerry Govan," Rosa Kennerly said. "This allowed the group to begin the preliminary work in July 2006. An architect, Joseph Munnerly of Camden, was hired and determined that the scope of the work would have to be done in phases. Skip Welch Construction was hired for the restoration of the house."

To help finance the project, the steering committee organized fund-raisers, applied for grants and solicited funding from Orangeburg County, area churches, businesses, alumni and friends.

"Thanks to the efforts of Orangeburg County Councilmen Heyward Livingston and Clyde Livingston, we secured a portion of our funding," Kennerly said. "Grants have been obtained from the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation through a fund administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, from the Alice Rosenwald Fund and Wal-Mart. Area businesses have also made contributions or provided donations for raffles, suppers and yard sales."

Phase one of the Great Branch Teacherage Restoration Project included the foundation work. Phase two involved roof and exterior restoration, and phase three will address the interior needs of the structure.

The exterior work has been completed, Kennerly said, adding that funds are now needed to complete the interior.

"Interior walls, floors and ceilings must be repaired (or) replaced, (and) electrical, plumbing and heating (and) cooling must be installed," she said. "We plan to make the restrooms handicap-accessible, and landscaping must be completed in this phase."

When completely restored, the Great Branch teacherage will be listed on the S.C. National Heritage Corridor. The house will serve as a welcome center, featuring an area for senior citizens to receive health screenings and wellness information, a computer room with internet access and an archival room.

"We are hoping to complete the project in 2009," Kennerly said. "One of our goals is to have area schools visit the Great Branch teacherage to see early 20th-century architecture and learn about the importance of the Rosenwald schools in educating African-Americans when no other public education was available.

"We have been collecting artifacts from people who attended Great Branch School, and these artifacts will provide hands-on experience for children and an opportunity for them to learn from the past."

The Orangeburg Chapter of The Links Inc. has also undertaken a project aimed at identifying all of the Rosenwald schools and sites in Orangeburg County.

"They have agreed to purchase a memorial marker for the Great Branch teacherage site," Kennerly said.

Kennerly said community support has brought the restoration project this far, and she anticipates that it will continue through various fund-raising efforts until completion.

"I know they need money," said Jones, the one-time Rosenwald teacher. "Whatever the amount -- they would be very grateful.

"I think it's wonderful that they had the foresight in the community to restore this building."

For more information about the Rosenwald schools, visit www.rosenwaldschools.com. For information about the Great Branch Teacherage Restoration Project, call Rosa Kennerly at 803-533-1828. To make a donation, write to Marjorie Pough, 792 Dragstrip Road, Neeses, SC 29107.

Fund-raiser set for June 21

A fund-raising event featuring a fish fry with catfish stew, hot dogs, sausage dogs and beverages will be held for the Great Branch Teacherage Restoration Project from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at the Great Branch Community Center. A raffle, basketball shoot-off for parents and children and other games will be included.

The Great Branch Community Center is located approximately 10 miles west of Orangeburg on S.C. 4 at 2890 Neeses Highway, Orangeburg.

Great Branch School and teacherage facts

* The Great Branch School was built in 1922-23 at a cost of $2,550.

* The Great Branch Teacherage was built in 1924-25 at a cost of $2,650.

* Great Branch School began as a two-teacher school and expanded to a four- to six-teacher school.

* One of the teachers who once resided in the Great Branch Teacherage, Rivannah Jones, still lives in Orangeburg.

* The first graduate of the Great Branch School, Ethel Blume, still lives in the Great Branch Community.

* While the first Rosenwald Schools were built in Alabama in 1913-1914, beginning in 1917, schools were constructed in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

* Of all the states, North Carolina had the greatest number of Rosenwald buildings — 813.

* South Carolina had 481 Rosenwald schools, 8 teacher’s homes and 11 shops.

* Great Branch Teacherage is one of only two in South Carolina that are still standing. The other one is on the South Carolina State University campus.

* The Rosenwald School list shows one Orangeburg County High School being built in 1923-1924 and one in 1930-1931.

A brief history of Rosenwald schools

Julius Rosenwald, a white American clothier and the son of German-Jewish immigrants, was encouraged by his friend, famed educator Booker T. Washington, who was principal of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama at that time, to address the issue of education for black Americans.

Rosenwald, who was a supporter of the Tuskegee Institute, responded by funding the construction of six small rural schools in Alabama that were opened in 1913 and 1914.

Washington’s plan was to create rural black schools that featured a course of study that combined the basics of reading, writing and math with vocational classes such as agriculture, trade and home economics. At the time, many black children were forced to attend school in churches or other privately owned buildings, and the schools that were housed in the few public buildings available to blacks were in poor condition. Washington was a firm believer in the importance of self-help for black Southerners as a means to meet the long-term goal of equality.

Rosenwald, who served as president and part-owner of Sears, Roebuck and Co., was founder of the Rosenwald Fund established in 1917 by the Rosenwald family for the “well-being of mankind.” The intention of the Rosenwald Fund was to use all of its money for philanthropic purposes.

Over the years, Rosenwald and his fund donated more than $70 million to public schools, colleges and universities, museums, Jewish charities and black institutions before the funds were entirely depleted.

The Rosenwald Rural School Building Program began in 1917 in the United States under Rosenwald’s leadership. The purpose of the program was to build schools, shops and teachers’ homes primarily for the education of black children. The school building program became one of the largest programs administered by the Rosenwald Fund.

The Rosenwald school venture stretched from Maryland to Texas. Matching grants were used to expand the project to accommodate one-third of all black children enrolled in Southern schools. It is reported that more than $4.3 million from the Rosenwald Fund went into the construction of 4,977 schools, 163 shop buildings and 217 teachers’ homes in 15 states before the program was discontinued in 1932.

To promote a joint-effort between white and black citizens, Rosenwald required communities to contribute public funds as well as additional donations, and blacks raised more than $4.7 million to help fund the education of their children.

In an effort to preserve this important link to the nation’s heritage, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Lowe’s Home Improvement chain have launched a join initiative to restore Rosenwald schools in 10 states. Orangeburg’s Great Branch teacherage, a Rosenwald teacher’s home, is one of 17 Rosenwald school grant recipients in the Southern United States.

(From www.rosenwaldschools.com)

Orangeburg County Rosenwald schools

* Bowman School, constructed 1926-27

* Cordova School, constructed 1923-24

* East Middle Col. School, constructed 1923-24

* Edisto School, constructed 1926-27

* Elloree School, constructed 1924-25 and 1926-27

* Enterprise School, constructed 1924-25

* Enterprise School #2, constructed 1924-25

* Flora Branch School, constructed 1920-21

* Holly Hill School, constructed 1926-27

* Jamison School, constructed 1927-28

* Jenkins School, constructed 1928-29

* Orangeburg County High School, constructed 1923-24

* Orangeburg County High School, constructed 1930-31

* Rocky Swamp School, constructed 1920-21

* Rowesville School, constructed 1920-21, addition 1921-22

* Springfield School, constructed 1920-21

* Training School State College, constructed 1924-25

* Teachers’ home at Training School, constructed 1926-27

* Great Branch School, constructed 1922-23

* Teachers’ home at Great Branch School, constructed 1924-25

You must be logged in to comment.