MHU Rural Heritage Museum Opens Rosenwald School Exhibition

Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School children.
Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School children.

Opening Reception:
September 14 from 1-3 p.m.

On display September 14 – February 28, 2015

Rosenwald Schools were a prominent part of the southern landscape during the early part of the 20th century.

Nearly 5,000 of these rural schools were built to serve African American children in rural areas across the South, including almost 900 in North Carolina. The schools were constructed under a program originated by Julius Rosenwald, president of the Sears Roebuck Corporation, with the encouragement and support of Booker T. Washington, founding principal of the Tuskegee Institute (now University).

Rosenwald donated millions of dollars in personal funds for the schools, which were also supported by some of his influential friends. One school, the Anderson Rosenwald School in the Long Ridge section of Mars Hill, and its predecessor “colored schools” in Madison County, served three generations of students between its opening in 1930 and the integration of the county’s public schools in the mid-1960s.

Leonard McClain (left), his brother Omar, and their mother Dora Ruth McClain, all of whom attended the Anderson Rosenwald School in Mars Hill. Leonard recalls being bused in from Marshall each day.  Photo: Urban News
Leonard McClain (left), his brother Omar, and their mother Dora Ruth McClain, all of whom attended the Anderson Rosenwald School in Mars Hill. Leonard recalls being bused in from Marshall each day. Photo: Urban News

Beginning this month, The Rural Heritage Museum at Mars Hill University will host an ongoing exhibition focused on that history. “Our Story–This Place, The History of African American Education in Madison County, North Carolina: The Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School” opens to the public on September 14 and will be on exhibit, along with special events, panel discussions, and presentations, though February 2015. The Museum is housed in Montague Hall, the historic stone building at the heart of the MHU campus on Rte. 213 in downtown Mars Hill.

The exhibition traces the history of African American education in WNC, with a particular emphasis on Madison County, from Reconstruction through the period of Civil Rights legislation and the integration in the 1960s. With artifacts, panel boards, photographs, and even a reconstructed privy, it focuses on the day-to-day learning experience of the students, along with the struggles, hopes, and dreams of their teachers and parents, in the context of the time. The legacy of the Rosenwald education and its impact on their adult lives will also be explored.

A number of prominent Asheville-area leaders attended the school up through the 1940s and ’50s, including Dorothy Coone, Sarah Hart, Eugene Jones, Omar Lewis McClain, Charity Ray, Fatimah Shabazz, and Oralene Simmons. Many of them finished their education at Stephens-Lee High School or South French Broad High School before the integration of Asheville City Schools in the late 1960s.

The opening weekend of the exhibition is timed to coincide with the annual Homecoming at Mt. Olive Church in Long Ridge, when families return from all over the country to visit the Mt. Olive Cemetery, lay flowers on the graves of their ancestors and kin, and reconnect with old friends before, during, and after services at the historic church. Homecoming this year will include opportunities to tour the Museum exhibition, meet with docents, including many of those on the school restoration committee and with alumni of the school, and visit with Mars Hill University President and 1969 alumnus Dr. Dan Lunsford, who will speak on the occasion of the exhibition’s opening. Light finger foods and refreshments will be available to those visiting the Museum on September 14.

Members of churches throughout the Asheville area are encouraged to visit the Museum Exhibition to learn more about this rich heritage and history, both during the opening weekend and throughout the six-month exhibition. The Anderson Rosenwald School Restoration Committee is developing plans to enable youth groups and other community organizations to visit both the school and the museum.

Exhibition highlights

The Rural Life Museum features a permanent tableau of a restored authentic Appalachian log cabin. This area has been converted into a 20-seat theater where visitors can view an introductory video with welcoming greetings from several Rosenwald alumni.

The Anderson Rosenwald School exhibition will include:

  • a chalkboard, school desks, teaching aids, a sink, a reconstructed privy, and other items found at the site of the historic school
  • Informational panels describing Madison County and county School Board history and decision-making over the years
  • Dozens of historic photographs never before exhibited

Programs

The Museum will also host several programs open to the public.

Opening Reception
Sunday, September 14, 1-3 p.m.

Madison County Colors From Long Ridge
Changing exhibition by Charity Ray, Rosenwald School Alumna.

Lecture by Oralene Simmons
Thursday, October 16 – The former Rosenwald School student, the first African American student admitted to Mars Hill College, and a great-great-granddaughter of Joseph Anderson, the slave who was an integral part of building the college’s original campus will share the stage with her cousin, Susi Anderson, a great-great-granddaughter of the slave-master of Joseph Anderson and now a resident of Hawaii.

Panel Presentation
Thursday, November 13 – Personal recollections of the Rosenwald School by alumni Dorothy Coone, Gene Jones, Omar Lewis McClain, Charity Ray, Fatimah Rashida Shabazz, and Oralene Simmons; moderated by Kevin Barnette (Ass’t. Football Coach at MHU)

The Rural Heritage Museum is open daily (except Mondays) from 1-5 p.m. and by appointment. It is located on Rt. 213, in Montague Hall, on the campus of Mars Hill University. Admission is free.
For more information or to plan a group tour, contact Museum Director Les Reker at (828) 689-1400 or [email protected], or visit www.mhu.edu/museum.