The Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School (DIAS) was a school for African Americans in
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...
from 1905 until 1993.
Its motto was "Self help through self work".
["The Downington Industrial School"]
''The Pittsburgh Courier'', 5 July 1912.
It was located in what is now
East Brandywine Township.
History
The school was founded by
John S. Trower and William A. Creditt. Both were well-known, successful African Americans from Philadelphia. Tower was a local businessman and Creditt was pastor of the city's first African Baptist church.
[ The school's purpose was to provide vocational training. By 1907, an illustrated report on the school was published showings the school's chapel, barn, dining room, and sewing room][. The school was included in Philadelphia's colored directory in 1910.
The school was aimed at educating African-American youth.] In July 1912 the school announced that it would be sending 15 graduates to Lincoln University that Fall.[
James H. N. Waring (1890 - 1973) served as the school's principal.
Mortelia Womack, who worked as a secretary for W. E. B. Du Bois, applied for a job in the school in 1931 and Du Bois sent the school's principal, J. H. N. Waring, Jr., a reference for her.
In 1980, a thirty-six-page publication about the school was printed.
Notable alumni include Cab Callaway famous for, among other things, Minnie the Moocher, or The Hi-De-Ho song.
]
Legacy
Delaware County Community College
Delaware County Community College (DCCC) is a public community college with campuses and facilities throughout Delaware and
Chester Counties in Pennsylvania. DCCC was founded in 1967 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher ...
's Downington campus is on the site of the former school.
See also
*Manual labor college
A manual labor college was a type of school in the United States, primarily between 1825 and 1860, in which work, usually agricultural or mechanical, supplemented academic activity.
The manual labor model was intended to make educational opportuni ...
References
Further reading
"Letter from the Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School to W. E. B. Du Bois, September 3, 1931"
University of Massachusetts Amherst.
{{coord, 40.026, -75.745, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title
Community colleges in Pennsylvania
African-American history in Philadelphia
Chester County, Pennsylvania
1905 establishments in Pennsylvania
1993 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
Educational institutions established in 1905