Former Rosenwald School
Kennard, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Now "The Little Red Schoolhouse") A symbol of Black America's pride in education, plus crusade of Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932), a Chicagoan who in 1913 began to fund school buildings for negroes. By 1920, when this one-teacher structure was built at Ratcliff (4 miles east), Rosenwald's grants had to be matched -- in this case, by Houston County funds. Alfred Foy (1865-1944), a veteran of brush arbor and log cabin classrooms, taught in this building at Ratcliff 1920-23 and 1924-27; Miss Detroit Denman, 1923-24; Mrs. Evola Colbert Dorn, 1927-55. Their pupils' playground equipment consisted of a baseball diamond, basketball goal, mulberry tree and swing. Yet patrons -- true to zeal that helped obtain the building -- brought in food and saw that the children had hot lunches. Sessions ceased in 1955 when the Ratcliff school was consolidated with Kennard Common School District No. 75. The Ratcliff building was used 1955-68 as the community center for socials and public meetings. In 1868 the "Old Rosenwald School" was moved to Kennard for use by Headstart and related programs. Texas had a total of 518 school buildings funded by the Rosenwald Foundation -- 22 of them in Houston County -- providing classrooms for thousands.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built around 1920 near Ratcliff, this one-teacher schoolhouse was one of hundreds of Texas schools funded through the philanthropy of Julius Rosenwald, the Chicago businessman who partnered with Black communities to build schools for African American children across the South. Local Houston County residents matched Rosenwald's grant, and dedicated teachers like Alfred Foy carried on a tradition of learning that had begun in brush arbors and log cabins. Parents brought food so the children could have hot lunches, a testament to the community's fierce commitment to education.
Why it matters
Rosenwald schools were a landmark of African American educational advancement in the segregated South, built through a partnership of Black families' sacrifice and philanthropic matching funds.
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Related people
- · Julius Rosenwald
- · Alfred Foy
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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