Fort Valley High and Industrial School
| Fort Valley High and Industrial School | |
|---|---|
Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hall | |
Fort Valley, Georgia, United States | |
| Information | |
| Other name | Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School |
| School type | Private Black elementary, secondary, normal school, industrial school |
| Religious affiliation | Episcopal Church |
| Founded | 1890 |
| Founder | J. W. Davison |
| Closed | April 1939 |
| Followed by | Fort Valley State College |
Fort Valley High and Industrial School (1890 – 1939), also known as Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School, was a private elementary, secondary and normal school for African American students in Fort Valley, Georgia, affiliated with the American Church Institute of the Protestant Episcopal Church.[1][2] It was a Rosenwald school.
In 1939, the school was consolidated into Fort Valley State College (now Fort Valley State University) by the State of Georgia.
History
Fort Valley High and Industrial School was opened in 1890, and chartered in 1896.[2] It was founded by J. W. Davison.[3][4] Some of the school's financial endowment was donated by the Slater Fund.[1] In 1931, the Rosenwald Fund also donated to the school.[5][6]
The first school building was completed in 1895 and also used as an Odd Fellows' Hall, and was a two-story frame structure built and paid for by the local Black community.[2] By 1910, the campus sat on 35 acres (14 ha) and consisted of 8 buildings, the largest of which was Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hall.[7]
The programs offered included grammar school-level primary education, teaching education (normal school), and industrial school coursework including sewing, handicrafts, cooking, printmaking, carpentry, blacksmithing, and farming.[2][7][8]
Student enrollment varied seasonally based on the local cotton farms' schedule.[7]
The early years of the Fort Valley High and Industrial School involved financial struggle, and they had difficulties with staffing teachers. During the first two years of the school, the student enrollment was around 250 students, with only two teachers.[2] In order to hire more teachers, the school posted the teaching roles and fundraised in New England, New York, and Chicago.[2][9] Notable teachers included J. H. Torburt, Inez P. Brockway, and C. B. Johnson.[2][10][11]
Principals of the school included John W. Davison (J. W. Davison),[3] and Henry Alexander Hunt (H. A. Hunt).[12][7] Hunt served as the second principal from 1904 to 1938.[13] He was born in 1886 in Sparta, Georgia, and was a 1890 graduate of Atlanta University.[2][5]
Closure and legacy
Principal Hunt died on October 1, 1938, in Washington, D.C.[5][14] He was buried on the campus, and a painted portrait of Hunt by artist Dean Aaron Brown was donated to the school in his honor a few months after.[15][5]
In April 1939, the State of Georgia took over the leadership of the school, and by October 1939 it was transformed into a college campus.[16][17] The Fort Valley High and Industrial School and the State Teachers and Agricultural College for Negroes in Forsyth, Georgia were both consolidated at the same time to form the Fort Valley State College (now Fort Valley State University) with Horace Mann Bond as its president.
See also
References
- ^ a b United States Office of Education (1969). Negro Education: A Study of the Private and Higher Schools for Colored People in the United States. Negro Universities Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-8371-2513-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Torbert, J. H. (June 1907). "The Fort Valley High and Industrial School" (PDF). The Colored American Magazine. Vol. 12, no. 6. pp. 447–457. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2025.
- ^ a b "Head, Heart, Hand". The Inter Ocean. December 5, 1897. p. 13. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ American Church Institute for Negroes (1925). "Fort Valley High and Industrial School". Our Church Industrial High Schools for Negroes. Abbott Press. pp. 32– – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d "Portrait of H. A. Hunt Is Unveiled at College". The Macon Telegraph. June 2, 1939. p. 21. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Records of Fort Valley High and Industrial School: Funding and Improvements". Rosenwald Fund Collection. Fisk University's Franklin Library. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Hartshorn, W. N. (William Newton) (1910). An Era of Progress and Promise, 1863–1910: the religious, moral, and educational development of the American Negro since his emancipation. Boston, MA: Priscilla Pub. Co. p. 367 – via Internet Archive, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Library.
- ^ "Fort Valley Issues Summer Course List". The Chicago Defender. April 12, 1930. p. 9. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Asks Aid For Negro School". Chicago Tribune. December 17, 1897. p. 9. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Brockway Goes to Fort Valley, GA". The Black Dispatch. November 2, 1922. p. 5. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New Agent for Fort Valley High School". The Afro-American. September 28, 1912. p. 2. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspaper.com.
- ^ Kilpatrick, Helen M. (July 7, 1929). "Georgia's Booker T. Washington". The Macon Telegraph. p. 25. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McPhail, Ayanna (November 3, 2006). "Fort Valley State University Celebrates Founders". The Macon Telegraph. p. 11. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Obituary for H. A. HUNT". The Macon Telegraph. October 2, 1938. p. 11. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Grave on Campus for H. A. Hunt". The Macon News (Obituary). October 4, 1938. p. 9. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "GA. Takes Over Hunt's School". The Afro-American. April 29, 1939. p. 3. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Flashes". Oklahoma City Star. October 13, 1939. p. 13. Retrieved September 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.