Rosenwald Reunion

Roanoke River Partners (RRP), in cooperation with the Hamilton Community, is hosting a reunion event to promote their Rosenwald School Preservation Project. This reunion will be held on Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 2:00 pm. Since the Hamilton Rosenwald School is currently under construction, the event will be held at the Hamilton Fire Station.

This exciting preservation project began in 2007 with the financial support of Mike and Irene Johnson, Sam and Vel Johnson, Gil and Cindy Matthews, The Conservation Fund and the Mid-EAST RC& D Council. Their combined support made it possible for Roanoke River Partners, a regional non-profit organization fostering sustainable economic development, to gain ownership of the Hamilton Rosenwald School property. Since that time, RRP has worked to acquire additional funding to gather the local history of this school and to stabilize and preserve this historic landmark. Additional funding for this preservation project has been provided by the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation Preservation Fund and the Covington Foundation.

The classic three-teacher style Hamilton Rosenwald School is reported to have been built in 1914 to educate black children. It continued to function in this capacity until it was replaced by the newly constructed Edna Andrews School in 1960. At that time, the vacant school was purchased by the Johnson family to be used for storage.

In 2001, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named all Rosenwald Schools to its list of endangered historic places. As a result of this distinction, there is regional and federal support to save surviving schools which were built with Rosenwald funding.

Besides overseeing the preservation of the Hamilton Rosenwald School, Roanoke River Partners is currently working with the local community to gather memories, artifacts and the history of its historic school. Some of this information will be shared at the upcoming Rosenwald Reunion. The reunion will also provide an opportunity to gather additional information from those in attendance.

Once completed, Roanoke River Partners envisions the preserved Hamilton Rosenwald School serving the community as: an interpretive center to showcase the local and regional “Rosenwald story;” a community center where meetings and events can be held; an office/visitors center for the Roanoke River region and as a stimulus for local and regional development.

Roanoke River Partners, Inc. is pleased to serve as the non-profit coordinator of this historic preservation project and foresees benefits for the entire Roanoke River Region as a result of this project. RRP is grateful for all the local and regional support for the upcoming reunion as well as for this overall project.

If you have any old photographs, school books, report cards, school work like poems or other writings, newspaper clippings, artifacts or other information relevant to this project or if you would like to know more about the upcoming reunion event, call Carol Shields at (252) 826-5719.

Hamilton Fire Station, 408 S. Front Street, Hamilton, NC