The Lincoln School (1894–1970), also known as Lincoln High School, was a segregated public elementary and high school for African American students, located in

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missour ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, United States. The buildings for the school complex were demolished, sometime after 1988. It is 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 ...

(NRHP) since June 23, 1988 for its contribution to educational history and ethnic heritage. With

History

After the formation of Central High School in Louisville in 1870, neighboring Kentucky cities established their own segregated public schools for African American students including the Lincoln School in Paducah; Paris Colored High School in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

; the Clinton Street High School (later known as Mayo–Underwood School) in Frankfort; the William Grant High School in Covington; the Russell School in Lexington; and Winchester High School in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. Garfield School (now destroyed) had been constructed in for African American students in a neighboring school district within Paducah. Lincoln School was named in honor of former President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

Architecture and campus

The former campus is near other NRHP-listed or nominated locations for Black community history, including the Paducah Downtown Commercial District, Burks Chapel A.M.E. Church, the Black Masonic Lodge building, and

Artelia Anderson Hall Artelia is a French design firm specializing in engineering, project management, and consultancy. Launched in 2010, Artelia is active building construction, water, energy, environment, industry, maritime operations, transportation, urban develo ...

(formerly West Kentucky Industrial College, and West Kentucky Vocational School for Negroes). The school campus was a complex of three buildings in a U-shaped configuration, constructed in 1894, 1921, and 1938. The earliest building was in a late-

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

architecture style; and the 1921 and 1938 buildings were in the Classical Revival architecture style. Louisville's Nevin Henry Wischmeyer (or Hugh Nevin, Earl Henry, and Herman Wischmeyer) completed the design for the 1921 building. The additional neighboring buildings were purchased as the enrollment in the school increased (one of which was the former site of the Second Baptist Church).

Principals

Former principals for Lincoln School included E. W. Benton from 1894 to 1906; G. W. Jackson from 1906 to 1915; J. G. G. Prather from 1915 to 1917; E. W. Whiteside from 1927 to 1965; and B. W. Browne in 1965. E. W. Whiteside introduced the school motto, "Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve".

Closure

In 1965, the Lincoln School was consolidated into the

Paducah Tilghman High School Paducah Tilghman High School is a public secondary school in Paducah, Kentucky. It is the only high school in the Paducah Independent School District. History The school opened at its first location in 1900, and was named Paducah High School, a ...

, the formerly segregated high school school for White students. However the elementary school continued to operate until 1970. From 1970 to 1980, the campus was used for the

Head Start Program Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. The program's s ...

References

{{Authority control 1894 establishments in Kentucky 1970 disestablishments in Kentucky Public high schools in Kentucky Historically segregated African-American schools in Kentucky Schools in McCracken County, Kentucky Educational institutions established in 1894 School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in McCracken County, Kentucky Demolished buildings and structures in Kentucky

History

Architecture and campus

Principals

Closure

See also

References