The Hope Rosenwald School, also known as Hope School, is a former school at 1971 Hope Station Road near
Pomaria, South Carolina
Pomaria is a town in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 179 at the 2010 census.
History
Pomaria was first settled in the mid 18th century by German, Swiss, and Dutch immigrants escaping the poverty and harsh condit ...
.
As a
Rosenwald School, it served rural African-American children in the early 20th century.
It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2007.
[
]
History
James Haskell Hope
James Haskell Hope (September 22, 1874 – January 18, 1952) was the longest-serving Superintendent of Education in the state of South Carolina, from 1922 until 1945.
Friends called him "Bud." In 1925, Hope and his siblings J.J. Hope and Mary Hop ...
, the South Carolina Superintendent of Education from 1922 to 1945, sold more than of his land for the "gift-like' price of $5 to the Trustees of School District No. 60 for Newberry County, South Carolina
Newberry County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 37,719. Its county seat is Newberry. The name is of unknown origin.
Newberry County comprises the Newberry, SC Micropolitan Sta ...
in 1925. Donations of $2,200 were raised. Of the private donations, $600 came from African Americans, and $400 from white Americans. State and local government contributed $1,200. The Rosenwald Fund
The Rosenwald Fund (also known as the Rosenwald Foundation, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation) was established in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald and his family for "the well-being of mankind." Rosenwald became part-owner of S ...
gave $700.
The building is based on the Rosenwald Two-Teacher Community School, Floor Plan No. 20. This simple design has elements of Colonial Revival architecture. The building has a wooden frame structure, a brick foundation, and a corrugated metal roof. It is next to St. Paul AME #REDIRECT AME #REDIRECT AME
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Church. Two teachers worked in the schoolhouse: one led the first, second, and third grades; another taught the fourth, fifth, and sixth. The school was closed in 1954 with the consolidation of public schools.
The legendary Thurman Ruth, gospel singer, deejay, and concert promoter, was born in Pomaria in 1914. He moved to Brooklyn with his family in 1922 where an early age he organized a gospel quartet, the Selah Jubilee Singers, out of the choir at St. Mark Holy Church (Pentecostal) where they sang every Sunday night for about 10 years. Later Ruth arranged for them to perform along with other black gospel groups on Thurman's Gospel Caravan at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Hope School Community Center, Inc.
On April 20, 2005, the Hope school was registered with the South Carolina Secretary of State as a non-profit organization as "Hope School Community Center, Inc."
The organization's mission is to supply the needs of the community by administering programs that will have a positive impact on the quality of life for community residents.