Retreat Rosenwald School
National Register Listing
Street Address:
150 Pleasant Hill Circle, Westminster, SC City Vicinity (Oconee County)
Alternate Name:
Retreat Colored School
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817737018
Description and Narrative:
The Retreat Rosenwald School, built in 1924, is significant for its association with African American public education during the first half of the twentieth century and as an extant example of an architectural design typically associated with the schools funded in part by Julius Rosenwald. The Julius Rosenwald Fund sought to improve schools for African Americans in the rural South. In addition to their architectural significance, extant Rosenwald Schools reflect the struggle of black communities to give their children better educational opportunities. Rosenwald schools also reflect the strong bonds of community: the public space became an important social center for rural blacks. The Retreat Rosenwald School was completed for a total cost of $2,300, including $700 from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. It was one of ten Rosenwald Schools built in Oconee County; the only other one extant is in Seneca. The building is T-shaped with entrances on either side of the forward wing. Each has a small-engaged porch which opens into a classroom. The floor plan is typical of a two-teacher community school, floor plan number 20-A, recommended in Bulletin No. 3 by the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The building has three main rooms consisting of two classrooms and an industrial room in the forward-projecting wing. The two classrooms were separated by a detachable dividing wall. The school is situated with a northwest to southeast orientation. This deviates somewhat from the specifications laid out by Samuel L. Smith’s Community School Plans for Rosenwald Schools, which calls for a north-south orientation. The school’s orientation is parallel to the road, however, and the southwest orientation of the large windows would increase the amount of sunlight in the winter and decrease it in the summer. The school served the African American community in the Westminster area from 1924 until 1950, when the Retreat Rosenwald School was closed because student enrollment had decreased significantly. Listed in the National Register September 15, 2011.
Period of Significance:
1924 – 1950
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Education;Ethnic Heritage: Black
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
September 15 2011
