This Elementary School for African-Americans has now been restored

Booker T. Washington School, Rushville Indiana

Date added: January 07, 2024 Categories: Indiana School

Rear (south) elevation, looking north (1989)

The Booker T. Washington School was the focal point for the black community of Rushville, Indiana. Besides being a source of pride, it was also an educational, cultural, political, social, and fraternal center for the town's black citizens. The building was designed so that it not only served as a school, but also as a community center, having a large room upstairs which was used for social and political meetings.

The district school system was established by provisions in the 1852 state constitution, although it was during the period of 1867-1900 that the system grew rapidly. Legislation passed in 1869 specifically called for the state to provide for the education of blacks. As in many states, it seemed that the best method to achieve this goal was to build separate facilities for black pupils. Most of these were probably located in urban areas where they would have been accessible to most students. The 1905 Superintendant of Public Instruction Report lists 83 segregated schools in the state and an enrollment of 3,645 black students in segregated facilities. In that year, 77 black students were located in Rush County. The Booker T. Washington School was built in 1904-05 to serve the black community of the Rushville area. (The contract was let in September of 1904 and the building was finished in January of 1905.) Local contractor Morris Winship was retained to erect the building.

The building served as an educational center from 1905-1932. First through sixth grades were taught here; any further education for blacks would come from one of Rushville's other public schools. The only other school for black students in the county was located in Carthage, (It is still standing; built in 1908 in the Mission Revival style by architects Nobly and Caldwell). Black teachers served at this school, and they are still remembered as leaders in the black community.

In 1932, the city school board decided to close the school. Dwindling enrollment and the economy were cited as the primary reasons. In spite of a petition signed by 70 persons, the board closed the school.

The second floor of the school was a political and social center for the black community of Rushville. Beginning in 1910, the NAACP frequently used this meeting space, and local politicians spoke in the school. In about 1919, famous black educator Mary McCloud Bethune visited the school. Local black chapters of the Odd Fellows and Masons used the second floor of the building. Plays and dances were also held here.

In summary, the Washington T. Booker School was the focal point of the black community in Rushville. The building is probably one of a few surviving black schools in small-town Indiana.

Today, Rushville's dwindling black population still uses the grounds of the building for church revivals and family reunions. It stands as a legacy of pride and heritage for the entire community.

The building was restored in 1993 for use as a community center and home of the town's Head Start program.

Building Description

The Booker T. Washington School, completed in 1905, is a two-story brick building which is situated on a triangular lot. The school is located in an eastside residential section of Rushville. The building stands on a small hill with an open area, the playground, to the east.

Architecturally, the school exhibits some characteristics of the Romanesque Revival Style, such as multiple-coursed round and segmental arches and rock-faced stone sills. The dominant influence, however, is the simple T-plan vernacular, which had been well established in the county by this period. The basic T-plan type has been adapted here to accommodate a two-story building.

The main facade faces north to East 7^th Street. The forward projecting stem of the "T" has three bays on each story; a central entrance flanked by two windows on the first floor and three windows above.

The entrance is recessed behind a triple-coursed round arch. Paneled wood double doors topped by a rectangular transom mark the entrance. All window openings have segmental arches infilled by rectangular two-over-two double-hung sash. Most windows are partially or entirely hidden by wood panels covered with insulbrick. Rock-faced limestone sills finish the windows.

Two windows on each story are centered in the east and west walls of the front projection and on the north wall segments of the main block. The west and east walls of the main block have two windows on each story. The rear or south wall has four windows on each story. There is a wider blank wall space in the center of this rear elevation. A small brick chimney is located just east of center on this wall.

The school has a low-pitched hip roof covered with asphalt shingles. The roof is heavily deteriorated in some areas.

The interior of the Booker T. Washington School has retained much of its historic appearance. The first floor has two large classrooms in the main section, with a staircase and cloakrooms in the stem of the "T". The stairs begin as a single flight until about two-thirds of the way to the second story, where a landing is encountered. At this point, the stairs divide into two perpendicular short flights which continue to the second story. The stairs have square newels, turned balusters, and a molded handrail.

The second floor originally had one large room, two storage rooms, and a balcony over the first-floor hall. The larger room has been subdivided.

Typical interior elements include plaster walls, car-sided wainscoting, and simple surrounds with entablature headers. Wood doors feature paneling and transoms.