Join the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 11AM for their first in-person event of the year. This event is free and open to the public.
Influenced by the work of Booker T. Washington, in the 1900s, the Julius Rosenwald Fund helped create schools across the American South for African American students. Between 1929-1930, this funding helped construct one such school in Mars Hill, in Madison County, where dozens of Black students attended classes in a two-room building until integration in 1964.
In 2009, a group of community and alumni members came together in hopes of restoring this historic schoolhouse, and have worked tirelessly to open it to the public once again. Today, it is the only Rosenwald school building still standing in WNC.
Join WNCHA for a tour the school and learn more about those who attended and saved this building. Hosts will include the chair of the planning committee, as well as various school alumni. Participants will also visit the nearby marker for Joseph Anderson, an enslaved man (and namesake of the Rosenwald school) who was used by a trustee of Mars Hill College as collateral on a loan for the college in 1859. Learn more here.
Meet: 11AM at Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School, Long Ridge Rd, Mars Hill, NC 28754.
Second Stop: 12:30PM at Mars Hill University (Joseph Anderson grave) – 3 miles away
Rain Date: In the event of inclement weather, the event will take place Saturday, February 12. Participants will be notified no later than 8PM the evening before the event.
Free tour of the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School, February 5 from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm.
Register for the tour at www.wnchistory.org/event/wncha-experiences-anderson-rosenwald-school-tour/