Thomas Johnson School
Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Hemphill School in Sabine County was established between 1929 and 1930. Smaller schools existed in the area since the end of the Civil War for African Americans, but by the 1930s the Hemphill school was one of the few African American schools in the county. This school was originally one of thousands of schools for African Americans that were partially funded by the Rosenwald Fund. Established in 1917, the Rosenwald Fund was a collaboration between Julius Rosenwald, President of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and noted African American educator Booker T. Washington to fund African American schools in rural areas throughout the south. By 1949, the school received new facilities and became renamed the Hemphill Colored School. That year school principal Russell Sage Simmons created a school annual called “The Hawk”, which documented student names, plans and history. The publication also featured pages on a Veterans School that was added to the campus site as part of a nationwide program to provide technical training for returning veterans of WWII. Robert T. Cannon taught technical skills while Mrs. V.M. Jones taught reading, writing and math. In the mid-1950s, a new school and gymnasium were built. By 1959, the school became known as the Thomas Johnson School. In 1966, the Thomas Johnson School integrated into the Hemphill Independent School District. The school continued to be used as an elementary school, but eventually all students were moved to schools closer to the city. The Rosenwald School served as a major foundation for African American education in the community since the early 20th century.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built around 1930, this Hemphill school was one of thousands across the rural South funded in part by the Rosenwald Fund, a partnership between Sears executive Julius Rosenwald and educator Booker T. Washington to build schools for African American children. Over the decades it grew into the Hemphill Colored School and later the Thomas Johnson School, adding a program to train returning WWII veterans and publishing its own yearbook, 'The Hawk.' In 1966 it integrated into the local district, closing a long chapter as the cornerstone of Black education in the county.
Why it matters
Rosenwald schools were a landmark effort to expand educational opportunity for African Americans in the Jim Crow South, and surviving sites like this one mark where Black communities fought to educate their children against steep odds.
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Related people
- · Julius Rosenwald
- · Booker T. Washington
- · Russell Sage Simmons
Themes & tags
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