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SILOAMSCHOOLExplore the 1920s-era ruralBlack school and learn moreabout the efforts to save andrestore the vulnerablestructure.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the following for their supportof the Save Siloam School Project.COMMUNITY PARTNERS & SUPPORTERSShayvonne DudleyGeorge DunlapDr. Hugh DussekMaxine EavesJett EdwardsLarken EglestonThereasea ElderAndrew FeilerFannie FlonoAnthony FoxxDr. Peggy FullerValaida FullwoodG&G LandscapingHarvey GanttStewart GrayBelinda GrierArthur GriffinGriffin MasonryStephen HairgroveDr. Tom HanchettSusan HardenFred AlexanderAlfreda BarringerMartha BarringerMaxine BarringerLu-Ann BarryAdreonna BennettEverett BlackmonDr. Rochelle BrandonKobi Brinson Janet BrooksC&Y Framing and DecksCarolina Piedmont ElectricalCharlotte Garden ClubCharlotte Herb GuildEllison & Angeline ClintonJeanie CottinghamSandra Wilcox ConwayJane & James CrosthwaiteDee Dixon Stephanie DeutschDouble HungBoris HendersonJerry HollisJohn HowardMark JerrellAngel JohnstonTracy & Jeff JonesShirell JoynerJohn KincheloeDavid KylanderShakeel LatimerBarbara LaughlinTiffani LewisTing Li Vi LylesDan MorrillKatherine & Walker MorrisNational Rent-A-FenceMary NewsomPaula NewsomeLen NormanSteve PhiferGreg PhippsDerek RaghavanLuther ReynoldsEric RidlerRotary Club of CharlotteRodgers BuildersSilverstar Community, Inc.Michael SolenderBob SticklerThe TellijohannsQueen ThompsonBrigette TinsleyUNC CharlotteTiffany WalkerPeter WasmerDarrel WilliamsTony WombleThe Staff & Board of theCharlotte Museum ofHistory, 2016-2024The Gambrell FoundationMecklenburg CountyTribute CompaniesLowe’s City of CharlotteSandra Wilcox ConwayPorter DurhamThe Schwarting FamilyBank of AmericaRadco RoofingWalmartMecklenburg Chapter NSDARCostner Building GroupInterstate Painting

How to Use the 360Tour The Rosenwald FundGeorge E. DavisSiloam SchoolBuilding a SchoolPeople of Siloam SchoolLearning at SiloamSchool Becomes HomeSave Siloam School ProjectLearn MoreContributorsCharlotte Museum of History45791012131722222324 ............ ................ ......................... ............................ ...................... .......... .................... ............. ...................................... .............................. .... TABLE OF CONTENTS

Getting StartedThroughout this Guidebook you will have an opportunity to see a scan ofthe school as it appeared prior to the recent restoration. To view the360Tour, click on the 360 icons throughout the guidebook. A separatepage will open and you will be ‘dropped into’ the school - this is whereyour tour begins!HOW TO USE THE 360TOUR Viewing Features & SuggestionsAt the bottom left of your screen, you’ll see several icons: an arrow toopen Highlights, a play button, View Dollhouse, View Floor Plan, FloorSelector, and Measurement Mode. When in Dollhouse or Floor Planmode, select the Person icon to go back to viewing the 3D Space. We recommend hitting Play and watching the entire tour first and thengoing back to get a closer look. Use the Highlights reel to help younavigate through the space. Each space has circle tags - hover yourmouse over the tag to read about a cool feature or design element.Navigating the SchoolTo look around while staying in the same place, left-click and hold themouse down while moving the mouse side to side or up and down. Tomove to a different space, double click on the location you’d like to go.You are not limited to the transparent circles! Use the mouse wheel tozoom in on features you want to see closer.Use the 360 icons to compare the school as yousee it now to the pre-restoration building!

In the early 20th century, educators at theTuskegee Institute, led by Dr. Booker T.Washington, conceived of a program to buildhigh-quality, free primary schools for Blackchildren throughout the segregated rural South.Washington enlisted the aid of JuliusRosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck andCo., to finance the effort, which led to thecreation of the Julius Rosenwald Fund in 1917.THE ROSENWALD FUNDThe program offered funding, detailedarchitectural plans, and fundraising support tocommunities that wanted to build schools forBlack students. By 1928, one-third of theSouth’s rural Black students and teachers wereserved by Rosenwald Schools. In all, the Fundfacilitated the construction of more than 5,000schools in the South – 813 of them in NorthCarolina and 26 in Mecklenburg County.Above: Booker T. Washington, C. E. Cheyne,1903. Courtesy of the Library of Congress; Below: Julius Rosenwald, 1926, Chicago Tribune archives. Click to watch past programs on Rosenwald Schools aswell as the recorded Inside Siloam School Kick-Off.

Starting as early as 1915, Tuskeegee Institutearchitects and students designed and distributedschool plans to communities across the ruralsouth. Later, professional staff at the new Fundheadquarters in Nashville updated and expandedthe plans. The designs were cutting edge and metthe most up-to-date standards of design,cleanliness, and safety, something even mostwhite schools across the south failed to do.The Rosenwald School plans could be requestedby anyone, not just communities that usedRosenwald funding. They proved to be so popularthat the Fund published all of their designs, withclear instructions for paint color, lot selection, andeven window treatments in a pamphlet in 1924.The Fund did not contribute to the building ofSiloam School, but the school was built accordingto Rosenwald plans. Based on the 1-A plan, thebuilding accommodates one teacher and wasdesigned to have a central classroom with anindustrial space in the rear and two cloakrooms inthe front. The door faces North and the buildinghas large windows on each side, to allow for asmuch light as possible since the school did nothave electricityDESIGNED TO LEARNTo learn more about Rosenwald Schools andread the entire School Plans pamphlet, visitHistorySouth.org

The Rosenwald Fund grew very quickly and was adopted by state administrators across theSouth, who would hire ‘Rosenwald Agents’ to promote the building of these schools. NorthCarolina’s “Division of Negro Education” was officially created in 1921, but state administratorshad been supporting Black education since 1913. Through the charitable efforts of severalfoundations, including the Rosenwald Fund, the head of the Division, Nathan Newbold, hiredtwo assistants in 1921.One of the assistants Newbold hired wasGeorge E. Davis - Davis’ official title was“Supervisor of Rosenwald Buildings” and heserved as the Rosenwald Agent for all ofNorth Carolina. Davis had been a scholarand an educator at Biddle Institute, nowJohnson C. Smith University, before retiringfrom that role in 1920.GEORGE E. DAVISOver 25 years, George Davis helped raise$650,000 in community funds to buildschools, which is over 9 million in today'sdollars. His efforts, along with his colleagues,meant that thousands of schools were builtacross the South prior to desegregation. Tolearn more about George Davis, visit theresources at the Historic West End websiteor this blog post from the NC Department ofCultural Resources.When he was hired to the Division of NegroEducation, Davis became the highest-rankingAfrican American person in stategovernment. His job was to travel to ruralcommunities across the state and advocatefor the construction of schools, helpingorganize rallies and events and speaking atthem.North Carolina's Indomitable Rosenwald AgentGeorge Davis (second from the right in the rear row) with hisfamily, date unknown. NC Department of Cultural Resources.Fundraising Flyer. NC Museum of History.

By the end of the 1920s and early 1930s,the Rosenwald Fund began searching fornew ways to support Black people,including supporting Black artists, writers,scientists, and other cultural figures,including the NAACP. When the schoolconstruction operation closed in 1932,more than 20% of Black students in theSouth attended a Rosenwald school.In all, the Fund spent over $4 million onschool construction - actually only ⅕ ofthe total cost of school construction.North Carolina had the most RosenwaldSchools, numbering at 813. MecklenburgCounty had 24, the most in the state.Today, only 7 of the 26 are still standing.Learn more about Mecklenburg’sRosenwald schools on page 24.Fisk University, John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library Special Collection, Julius Rosenwald Fund Archives.Students outside McClintock School, a Rosenwald School in South Charlotte, date unknown. Courtesy of McClintockPresbyterian Church. No such photos for Siloam School exist.THE END OF THE FUND

SILOAM SCHOOLOnce nestled in the farm lands of rural Mecklenburg County, Siloam School, built ca. 1920, was abeacon of light to young students who saw education as a means of advancement. The newwood siding and the glistening glass windows may have faded prior to the restoration, but theschool itself remained - reminding all of the promise of education and the perseverance of acommunity. Now restored, the school will return to its life as a community space and place forconversation, dialogue, and progress to help build a stronger, more equitable, and just future.

In 1903, the Board of Education purchased 1acre of land from F.E. Query for $10 for thepurposes of building a school. This structurewas probably a log building and was likelybuilt by the community or the church with thecooperation of the county school board. Theschool was probably associated with theSiloam (or Salome) Presbyterian Church,located just north of the school, and servedBlack students who lived in the rural MallardCreek neighborhood. According to MarthaBarringer, the last remaining alumna of theschool, the school was originally called theScrub Hill School before becoming known asthe Siloam School.The existing building was built around 1924 toreplace the previous structure and was,again, probably built by tradesmen in thecommunity, who donated both materials andtheir time. There’s no evidence thecommunity attempted to pay for constructionusing the Rosenwald Fund, thoughRosenwald Schools had already been built inMecklenburg - Piney Grove school and Zoarschool in 1918. Since the blueprints andplans were available to the public for free,many communities took advantage of the up-to-date designs. BUILDING A SCHOOL1911 Map with "Salome Church" and associatedschool indicated. The marking means the schoolwas public and administered by the county. NC State Archives. Hunter Hill School, Autauga Co, AL, before thenew Rosenwald School replaced the old building.Fisk University.

Above: Community School Plan 1-A, Rosenwald Fund CommunitySchool Plans, 1924. HistorySouth.org.These photos show the school in its original location and state ofdisrepair prior to the 2023-2024 restoration.

Though Siloam School was built by members of the community, the county school systemprovided and paid a salary to the instructor and janitor/caretaker and the students wereregistered in the county school system. County records for the 1924-25 school year indicatethere were 72 Black children living in the Siloam district, but only 63 were registered at theschool. Average daily attendance was 39 students that year. In other years, between 30-60students were registered at the school, with the average daily attendance falling somewherebetween 20 and more than 30 each day.Two of the teachers, Margaret Gilliard (1922-23) and Mattie Osborne (1923-25), lived inCharlotte and commuted to Siloam by busand by foot each day. Ms. Gilliard traveledfrom Ward 1 on N Caldwell St, a journey ofmore than ten miles. Mrs. Osborne livedcloser, just south of what is now UNCCharlotte. One of the janitors, Nelson Young walkedfive miles from his home to the school to lightthe coal stove and get water from the nearbyspring before students arrived each day. Hisson, James, attended the school as a child inthe 1930s while his father worked there.PEOPLE OF SILOAM SCHOOL Mattie Osborne is listed as the teacher for Siloam in the 1924-1925 Meck Co Colored School Board Budget.Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library.Margaret Gilliard, listed in the 1928City Directory. NC Archives.

Religion and education were intertwined inthe early 20th century. For many, the churchwas the first entry into literacy with lessonsand scripture providing the foundation for allother learning. The same was true of SiloamSchool where the day began with prayersand devotionals before the more secularlessons.Asked what was taught in her school, IreneHunt, Principal of the nearby RockwellRosenwald School, replied with subjectsthat would be at home in today's elementaryschool: geography, spelling, reading,history, mathematics, and science. Insteadof typing and computer skills, studentslearned penmanship.Students were granted a small recess atmidday, usually after lunch. This time couldbe used to play outside or visit the outhouseor privy. Without indoor plumbing,bathrooms were outhouses located on thegrounds of the school.Booker T. Washington saw education askey to achieving equality and the end ofdiscriminatory policies in the South.Following the Civil War, many formerlyenslaved people rushed to the polls tocast their votes. White lawmakers,alarmed by their loss of power andcontrol, enacted a series of laws in thelate 19th century that were designed todisenfranchise Black people and denythem a voice in American politics. These laws centered on literacy tests.To cast a vote, one needed to provethey could read and write. Sincelearning to read and write was largelyillegal during slavery, newly freedpeople were cut off from participating intheir rights as citizens. Washingtonsought to change this. By building schools throughout the ruralsouth, Booker T. Washington madeeducation accessible and ensured newgenerations regained their voice in theAmerican democracy. Literacy Is Essential:LEARNING AT SILOAM SCHOOLRidgely School, built 1927. Prince George's County, MD. Restored 2011. Courtesy of Preservation MarylandThanks to the Special Collections Staff atUNC Charlotte's J. Murrey Atkins Library,you can hear the stories of manyRosenwald School students andadministrators. We suggest starting withthat of the principal of Rockwell School:Irene Elizabeth Hunt oral history interview,2004 February 13, J. Murrey Atkins Library,The University of North Carolina atCharlotte.

In addition to the above pursuits, industrialeducation also helped raise the socioeconomicstatus of Black communities in the South, asstudents were able to use the skills learned inschool to benefit their communities. AtBellefonte School, graduating boys would usethe skills they learned to build houses in theircommunity. They would begin making plans forthe house, cutting down trees, preparing thewood, and leveling the ground at the beginningof the school year, and the house would befinished by the end of the term. This projectwas done every year by the graduating boys,and the houses that were built had to befinished before the boys could officiallygraduate from the school. In turn, the industrial skills learned by studentsof Rosenwald schools were then passed ontofuture generations. Dr. Brandon’s mother andaunt, the daughters of Othella Spears Love,were able to skip grades in elementary schooldue to their mother’s dedication to theireducation early in their lives. Following in theirmother’s footsteps, they, too, were able to sewwith extreme care for the construction andprecision of stitching in clothing. Dr. Brandonherself is incredibly industrious andindependent, taking care to create beautifulartworks for her practice and continuing thestrong work ethic and attention to detail thathas been passed through generations. Students who attended Rosenwald-era schools also had access to lessons in classics, languagesand other coursework that would be considered essential enrichment courses today. Othella SpearsLove, a student at Bellefonte School, a Rosenwald School in Harrisburg, North Carolina, learnedShakespeare and French as a child, and was able to recite Julius Caesar and carry a Frenchconversation decades after she graduated from school. At Siloam School, students learned very similar subjects as students of other Rosenwald schools.Martha Barringer, a graduate of Siloam, also remembered learning sign language at Siloam andbeing able to translate for deaf people in the community as an adult. A VARIED CURRICULUM

One important part of the curricula at Rosenwald-era schools was the attention paid toskilled trades. Booker T. Washington insisted students learn skills to prepare them fortheir current circumstances and for their future careers. Students were taughtwoodworking, sewing, cooking, and agricultural sciences. These lessons took place inthe industrial room located behind the large classroom. Many credit the attention to skilled trades as the reason white school boards and whitecommunities were willing to support the Rosenwald Fund schools; it ensured themostly Black workforce would remain in their rural community rather than leave forbetter opportunities in large cities. In the end, Washington was a pragmatist workingwithin the bounds of the society he inhabited. Others would later take up the mantle toensure greater access to fields and vocations beyond that of tenant farmer orhousemaid.INDUSTRIAL TRADES

In this photo of the corner ofthe unrestored classroomyou can see the remains ofthe smokestack for the woodstove. Each morning, theteacher or janitor would fillthe stove with wood or coalto heat the room. In the coldwinter months, students oftenmoved the benches anddesks closer to the stove tostay warm.As a part of the restorationprocess, a restored stovefrom the era has beeninstalled. You can also seethe door of the original stovewhich was recovered in the2023 archaeological surveyon display in the exhibition. INTERIORDETAILS

As the school system expanded, one-roomschools like Siloam were gradually replacedwith new buildings that separated grades. Inthe 1940s, the Mecklenburg County schoolsystem began consolidating communityschools into larger and more modernizedbuildings. Though this consolidation made busingpossible, it actually resulted in fewer schoolsfor Black students. All one teacher schools inthe county were closed by 1952. It's notclear when Siloam School closed, but in1947, the county began looking for a buyerfor the property.The Young family, who had attended andcared for the structure since the 1930s,bought the school in 1951 and converted theit into a home for their family. When NelsonYoung and his wife Cora moved to the city inthe early 1970s, the property was given toJames Young, now Reverend. ReverendYoung turned the home into an auto garage.SCHOOL BECOMES HOMEAfter the 1980s, the structure was no longerused by the family. In the early 2000s, theproperty was purchased by a developer andturned into a sprawling apartment complex.It's thought that these doors were added by the Young familyas the new back door of the building. The wood door uses arepurposed thread spindle as a door handle (also below).

INTERIOR DETAILS -UNRESTORED HISTORYPrior to the restoration, the original paintcolors were faded and altered as thespace underwent new life as both a homeand an autobody shop. However, theoriginal wainscoting remained intact inmost of the building. The teal paint on thewindows, however, was added by theYoung family when they turned thebuilding into their home. The wallpaperand shelving seen here were also addedby the Young family sometime in the1950s or 1960s.

BeforeAfter

THE SAVE SILOAMSCHOOL PROJECTThe project vision was for the building to be moved to the Museum’s East Charlotte campus tobecome an educational space for programs and exhibits that foster dialogue, particularly aroundsocial justice, racial inequity, and school segregation. The museum also plans to offer K-12 fieldtrips and public tours of the building to make the space available as a community resource.The Museum will now use the structure as a teaching resource, a window into aspects of life ofrural African American families in Mecklenburg County in the early 20th-century – and a prismthrough which we can better view issues of social justice in the 21st-century.Alongside our community partners, the Museum lead a fundraising effort to save the historicSiloam School, one of Mecklenburg County’s oldest remaining African American schoolhouses.Over the course of eight years, we worked to develop a detailed plan to re-locate Siloam School,stabilize the structure, and work with the community to create a new space for education,dialogue, and opportunity.

THE RESTORATIONfrom September 2023 to June of 2024, the build team worked to identify original materials, paintcolors, and other features of the school as it existed in 1924. Throughout the process, they reliedon the Rosenwald plans, but discovered a few deviations - unsurprising given the community didnot use Rosenwald Funds and were thus able to employ additional creativity or substitutionsbased on available materials. For instance, the plans call for a moveable partition between theIndustrial Room and the main classroom, but upon close inspection of the structure it wasdetermined that the wall seen in the extant structure appeared to be original to its constructionrather than a later alteration. As such, the wall has been left in place. Additionally, the plans calledfor the use of pine floors, but Siloam School creators installed the beautiful cherry floors that arevisible today. On November 1, 2022 the Save SiloamSchool Project exceeded its fundraisinggoal thanks to generous support fromacross the community—raising $1.2million to save and restore thisimportant piece of Charlotte history! OnSeptember 8, 2023 the Siloam Schoolmoved to its new home on the eight-acre campus of the Charlotte Museumof History in east Charlotte to begin therestoration process.Prior to the move, the school wasstabilized to survive the 10 mile trekfrom Mallard Creek to Shamrock Drive.The added chimney was removed andareas where windows, flooring, andother structural elements had beenremoved in the construction of agarage door were replaced orstabilized for transport.The building was then loaded onto aflatbed and in the early morning hoursof September 8, the building wasmoved to its new home. Once in place,new masonry was added to create thefoundation, inspired by the originalbricks laid in the 1920s.THE MOVE

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:You Need a Schoolhouse, Stephanie DeustchSchooling the New South, James L. LeloudisDear Mr. Rosenwald, Carole Boston WeatherfordA Better Life for Their Children, Andrew FeilerLEARN MORESTART HERE: Save Siloam School Project, Charlotte Museum of History“Walls that Talk,” Michael J. Solender, Aug 3, 2020,SouthPark MagazineRosenwald Schools, HistorySouth.org, Tom Hanchett"The Rosenwald Schools" Online Exhibit, National Trust for Historic PreservationRosenwald Schools, African American Cultural ActionFund, National Trust for Historic PreservationCredit: QC Nerve, Issue 18, July 20, 2020OTHER STANDING ROSENWALDSCHOOLS IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY:"Aging Rosenwald Schools Recall Long AgoOptimism," Michael J. Solender, UNC CharlotteUrban InstituteARCHIVAL RESOURCES:African American Education, NC State Archives"The Era Before Brown v. Board of Education," J. Murrey Atkins Library, UNC CharlotteCaldwell School, now Burgess Supply Co. Address: 15435 NC-73, HuntersvilleBLACK HISTORY IN CHARLOTTE:Charlotte's Historic West End, JCSU"Look Back," Engage 2020, Char-Meck LibraryThe Black History of Charlotte Series, QC NerveCredit: SouthPark Magazine, August2020.

Guidebook ContributorsPhotographerJoshua Komer Photography - Prior to RestorationCharlotte Museum of History Staff - After Restoration360Tour Gary Benner, Digital LasagnaResearch PartnersTom Hanchett, HistorySouth.orgTom Cole, Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room, Charlotte-Mecklenburg LibraryChristina Wright, Special Collections, J. Murrey Atkins Library, UNC CharlotteAdditional Content SupportFannie Flono, Chair of the Save Siloam School CommitteeDr. Rochelle Brandon, Charlotte physician and descendant of Rosenwald alumniShelby XXX, CMH Intern Martha Barringer, Alumna of Siloam SchoolMark Tully, Project Manager WestEnd ConsultingMario Raicevic, Costner Building GroupThe Team at LS3P, Project ArchitectsSET IN STONEbe a part of charlotte’s historyA unique opportunity for friends andsupporters of the museum to honor ormemorialize a special individual or momentin time. Bricks can be placed either at theSiloam School or the Rock HouseScan Here To Purchase

Watch the RecordingWatch the RecordingAbout The Charlotte Museum of HistoryThe Charlotte Museum of History exists to save and share the Charlotte region’s history, helping create abetter understanding of the past and inspiring dialogue about the future. The museum is the steward of the1774 Hezekiah Alexander Rock House and homesite, which is listed on the National Register of HistoricPlaces and is the oldest home in Mecklenburg County. Visit charlottemuseum.org and follow the museumon Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The museum is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.Learn about Charlotte history, tour the 1774 Alexander RockHouse virtually, or watch past virtual programs, includingconversations about historic preservation, Charlotte architecture,and more at charlottemuseum.orgWATCH IT AGAIN:Lunch & Learn: Ring Shout & "Remembrance"UNCC Department of Dance Professor TamaraWilliams and Filmmaker Marlon Morrison explore theintersection of history and modernity through dance atthe historic Siloam School. WATCH IT AGAIN:Lunch & Learn: Rosenwald SchoolsExplore the story of the creation of the RosenwaldFund, Black education in the rural South, andMecklenburg County's remaining Rosenwald-eraschools, including Siloam School.