St. James Rosenwald School
National Register Listing
Street Address:
1108 Hickory Street, Hickory Grove, SC (York County)
Alternate Name:
Hickory Grove School
NRHP Nomination Form
Record Number:
S10817746063
Description and Narrative:
St. James Rosenwald School, located in the town of Hickory Grove in western York County, was completed in 1930 as the town’s only public elementary school for Black pupils. The construction of the St. James Rosenwald School was made possible in part by the contributions of the Julius Rosenwald Fund supplemented with public funds. From 1917 to 1937, this fund helped Black southerners counteract systemic educational discrimination in the Jim Crow Era by financially sponsoring school construction, teacher training, and busing. St. James Rosenwald School’s four-acre lot is located at the northern edge of Hickory Grove’s town limits. The school building is rectangular in plan, covering approximately 2,900 square feet. It is of wood frame construction with a brick foundation, and a small concrete block addition constructed c. 1975 connects to the south elevation. The exterior walls are primarily covered in asbestos siding added c. 1957 with some portions clad in wood clapboards. The building was constructed in the simple vernacular style typical of Rosenwald schools with some details denoting a Craftsman influences. St. James Rosenwald Schools served as the only public elementary school for Black pupils in Hickory Grove between 1930 and 1957. It is one of only four surviving Rosenwald schools in York County. The school served the first through seventh grades with two to three teachers throughout its years of service, and acted as a hub for Hickory Grove’s Black community through the extracurricular, social, and public health events it hosted. St. James was closed in 1957 and consolidated with other area schools as part of the state equalization program, an initiative intended to prolong school segregation by upgrading South Carolina’s historically inferior African American school buildings. St. James Rosenwald School represents the inequalities inherent in the segregated school system of the Jim Crow era and embodies the local Black community's struggle for better educational facilities and opportunities. Listed in the National Register January 30, 2026.
Period of Significance:
1930 – 1957
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Education;Ethnic Heritage: Black
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
2026-01-30
Date of Boundary Increase:
No Boundary Increase
Location:
Hickory Grove;York County
