Catawba Rosenwald School
National Register Listing
Street Address:
S. Anderson Rd., Catawba, SC (York County)
Alternate Name:
Liberty Hill School
NRHP Nomination Form
Record Number:
S10817746056
Description and Narrative:
The Catawba Rosenwald School was built in 1924-25 to serve the African-American community in southeastern York County. It was known as the Catawba School on official lists of Rosenwald schools, but is generally known as the Liberty Hill School locally because of its association with Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church nearby. The school is significant for its association with African- American public education and ethnic heritage and as a extant example of an architectural design typically associated with schools funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Fund. It was one of twenty schools built in York County with funds from the Rosenwald program between 1917 and 1932. Of these schools, only two, the Catawba Rosenwald School and the Carroll Rosenwald School, are known to be extant. The Catawba School is built according to Rosenwald Plan # 20 as a two-teacher rural school. The local builder is unknown. The Rosenwald fund contributed $700 of the total cost of $2,800. It is one of at least eight extant Rosenwald schools of this type in South Carolina. It was placed on a four-acre site, which exceeded the recommended lot size and provided ample space for outdoor activities and a well and outhouse. There is a non-contributing outhouse behind the school, but it is not known if this is the original privy. In its original location, the building was oriented so that the classrooms received east and west light. About 1960, the school building was moved on the same piece of property to accommodate the widening of South Anderson Road. Since the school was closed in 1956, the Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church has assisted the Rock Hill School District in maintenance and security responsibilities. Listed in the National Register July 3, 2013.
Period of Significance:
1924 – 1956;1924 – 1925
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Education;Ethnic Heritage: Black
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
2013-07-03
Date of Boundary Increase:
No Boundary Increase
County:
York County
