The blackboard at the historic school, which has been rehabilitated.
by Tammy Watford, WLOS –
Educators in Madison County recently came together to see a piece of history made new again.
The Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School was built in 1928 in the Long Ridge Community to educate Black students. It was one of more than 5,000 schools built across the country with that vision in mind.
Today, only a handful of these buildings are still intact. Madison County’s was restored to be as it was when it first opened nearly a century ago.
Volunteers called it a labor of love.
“Oh, it’s amazing,” Volunteer – Worker Coordinator Dan Slagle said. “If you look at pictures of this building before it was worked on, you would not think that it would be worth saving. But historically, it’s been well worthwhile.”
The two-room schoolhouse taught grades 1-4 in one room and grades 5-8 in the other.
The project to rehabilitate the structure was a partnership between the state, the county school board, and local volunteers.
The fully rehabilitated schoolhouse is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Watch the full segment, which aired Tuesday, February 14, 2023, and view more photos at wlos.com/news/local/mars-hill-anderson-rosenwald-school-black-students-madison-county-educators-national-register-historic-places#.