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History
on a Pinhead Established
by emanicipated slaves in the late 1870s. Little of its early history was recorded
but it became known in the early 20th Century for having a vocational school.
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Sweet
Home Vocational and Agricultural School
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark
National Register of Historic Places
3340 Sweet
Home Rd.
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, June 2011 |
Historical
Marker Text
Sweet
Home Vocational and Agricultural School
Located in southwest Guadalupe County, the Sweet Home Vocational and Agricultural
School served the educational needs of Negro students in Guadalupe County from
1924 until 1962. It was built in part with money from the Rosenwald Fund, a philanthropic
endeavor developed by Sears, Roebuck Company president Julius Rosenwald, to improve
the quality of education for rural citizens through the construction of modern
schoolhouses in the early 20th century.
Sweet Home was one of six schools
built in Guadalupe County under the Rosenwald school program. Master carpenter
Henry Singletary and his assistant, Jesse C. Ussery, completed the schoolhouse
in 1925. The total cost of construction was $5,500, of which $1,100 came from
the Rosenwald Fund. Known as a four-teacher type school, it boasted four primary
classrooms, a kitchen and a library. Additional buildings constructed on the property
included a girls' dormitory, an industrial building and a house for the teachers,
which also served as the home economics classroom.
Sweet Home served as
a county training school, providing education beyond the eighth grade for students
from a three-county area. Its primary focus was on modern industrial and agricultural
training. By 1935 Sweet Home was an accredited public high school. Its students
won many agricultural, athletic and educational honors before it closed in 1962.
The school building, which retains much of its original features and character,
continues in use as a center for community activities.
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark - 2001 |
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Sweet
Home Vocational and Agricultural School
National Register of Historic Places
Plaque
Photo
courtesy William
Beauchamp, June 2011 |
"The
church is still active as the preacher and a friend were working outside the day
we stopped in on this little spot in the road."
-
William
Beauchamp, June 2011 photo
More Texas
Churches |
See Also
Sweet
Home, Lavaca County
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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