Caroline High School / Caroline Middle School

Historic Property

Alternate Name:

Caroline Community Center

Street Address:

NE corner of Church St. and Hamilton St.;(Anderson County)

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Site Number:

1385

Control Number:

U/07/1385

Date Surveyed:

May 23 2002

Category:

Building

Construction Date:

1935 – 1937

Historic Use:

Education

Current Use:

Social

Historic Core Shape:

T

Number of Stories:

1

Construction Method:

masonry

Exterior Walls Materials:

Brick

Foundation Materials:

Not Visible

Roof Shape:

gable, lateral

Roof Materials:

composition shingle

National Register Determination:

eligible

Signficant Architectural Features:

The school has two recessed entries, one with double doors with a multi-pane transom and covered by a shed roof. The other entry also has doubled doors with a fan light overhead and granite keystones on an overhead arch, covered by a gable roof. Windows on the main façade are double nine over nine and single six over six panes.

Alterations:

Some new windows have been installed.

Historical Information:

This is the third location of the Caroline School, Williamston's first educational institution for African Americans. The school was established in 1879 by Forest Washington and named for his wife, Caroline. Earlier classes were held on the grounds of the New Prospect Baptist Church and of the Bethel Episcopal Methodist Church. After the church at Bethel burned, this third structure was built as a public school and opened in 1937. Caroline School operated as a high school until 1950, and was later used as a middle school and daycare/Head Start Program site. It currently operates as a community center offering free child care programs.

Source of Historical Information:

Gene Welborn, "A Town Springs Forth: The Story of Williamston, South Carolina." Bountiful, UT: Family History Publishers, 2000, pp. 196-199.

Quadrangle Name:

Belton East

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