Trinity School (Athens, Alabama)
| Trinity School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
United States | |
| Information | |
| School type | Private |
| Founded | 1865 |
| Founder | Mary Fletcher Wells |
| Closed | 1970 |
| Affiliation | American Missionary Association, Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission |
Trinity School (1865–1970) was a private secondary school for African American students in Limestone County, Alabama, and was located in Athens, Alabama, United States.
History
[edit]It was founded by Mary Fletcher Wells in 1865. The school was sponsored by the Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission and the American Missionary Association, located in a Baptist church initially.[1][2] It was the only high school for Black students in the county and the first school in the northern half of the state offering kindergarten for Black children,[3][1] during the time of Jim Crow laws. Wells initially taught under the protection of armed guards.[4] The school had an integrated faculty by 1892.[5] Wells would teach, canning fruits and vegetables for the winter, and returned north to raise funds for the school in the summers.[1] She remained at the school for twenty-seven years.[6]
In 1907, it was relocated to Fort Henderson[7] where a new school building was built on the ruins of Fort Henderson, and succeeded a wooden school building on the site.[8]
In 1950, the school was transferred from the American Missionary Association to the state of Alabama. Additional school property followed six years later.[2] Trinity was closed in 1970, after court-ordered desegregation.[1]
Legacy
[edit]A historical marker by the cistern that served the 1865–1907 school building commemorates the school's history.[7] A historical marker is also located at the Fort Henderson site.[9] There have been efforts to preserve and restore what remains of the school sites and buildings.[10][11]
Alumni
[edit]- Patti J. Malone, mezzo-soprano vocalist[12]
- C. Eric Lincoln, novelist[12]
- George Ruffin Bridgeforth, professor and agriculture department head at Tuskegee Institute[9]
- B.F. Foster, pastor at First Congregational Church in Little Rock, Arkansas[9]
- Ross Baity, painter whose work includes a mural of Athens, Alabama[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Trinity School, Athens, Alabama: Dare To Make a Difference". Library and Instruction Services. August 26, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ a b "Trinity School (Athens, Ala.) | Amistad Research Center". amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu.
- ^ "Athens Alabama February news". Visit Athens Alabama. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ "Trinity-Fort Henderson". Athens Alabama business and news directory. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ "UAH spotlight event with author Charlotte S. Fulton". The University of Alabama in Huntsville. January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ Willard, Frances Elizabeth (October 23, 2016). "A woman of the century; fourteen hundred-seventy biographical sketches accompanied by portraits of leading American women in all walks of life". Internet Archive. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ a b "Trinity School Cistern Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
- ^ "Trinity School". Encyclopedia of Alabama.
- ^ a b c "Trinity School Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
- ^ "Fort Henderson Site and Trinity School, Athens, Limestone County (Places in Peril 2012)". Alabama Heritage.
- ^ "Postcard resurrects memories of early Trinity School building". Enewscourier.com. April 11, 2010.
- ^ a b c Writer, Lt Col James L. WalkerGuest (September 3, 2010). "Trinity High School had many distinguished graduates". Enewscourier.com.
- High schools in Alabama
- Historically segregated African-American schools in Alabama
- Limestone County, Alabama
- Schools supported by the American Missionary Association
- Educational institutions established in 1907
- Educational institutions disestablished in 1970
- Defunct black public schools in the United States that closed when schools were integrated