|
|
History on
a Pinhead
Established
by emanicipated slaves in the late 1870s.
Little of its early history was recorded but it became known in the
early 20th Century for having a vocational school. |
Sweet Home Vocational
and Agricultural School
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
National Register of Historic Places
3340 Sweet Home Rd.
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, June 2011 |
Historical
Marker Text
Sweet Home
Vocational and Agricultural School
Located
in southwest Guadalupe
County, the Sweet Home Vocational and Agricultural School
served the educational needs of Negro students in Guadalupe County
from 1924 until 1962. It was built in part with money from the Rosenwald
Fund, a philanthropic endeavor developed by Sears, Roebuck Company
president Julius Rosenwald, to improve the quality of education for
rural citizens through the construction of modern schoolhouses in
the early 20th century.
Sweet Home was one of six schools built in Guadalupe
County under the Rosenwald school program. Master carpenter
Henry Singletary and his assistant, Jesse C. Ussery, completed the
schoolhouse in 1925. The total cost of construction was $5,500, of
which $1,100 came from the Rosenwald Fund. Known as a four-teacher
type school, it boasted four primary classrooms, a kitchen and a library.
Additional buildings constructed on the property included a girls'
dormitory, an industrial building and a house for the teachers, which
also served as the home economics classroom.
Sweet Home served as a county training school, providing education
beyond the eighth grade for students from a three-county area. Its
primary focus was on modern industrial and agricultural training.
By 1935 Sweet Home was an accredited public high school. Its students
won many agricultural, athletic and educational honors before it closed
in 1962.
The school building, which retains much of its original features and
character, continues in use as a center for community activities.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001 |
 |
Sweet Home Vocational
and Agricultural School Historical Marker
Photo
courtesy William
Beauchamp, June 2011 |
Sweet Home Vocational
and Agricultural School
National Register of Historic Places Plaque
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, June 2011 |
"The church is
still active as the preacher and a friend were working outside the
day we stopped in on this little spot in the road."
- William
Beauchamp, June 2011 photo
More Texas Churches |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history
and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
|
|
HOME
Texas
Gulf Coast
East
Texas
Central
Texas North
Central
Texas South
Texas
Panhandle
South
Texas
Texas
Hill Country
West
Texas
Texas
Ghost Towns
Texas
Counties
