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Mt. Zion Rosenwald School

SC PICTURE PROJECT 3 Comments

SC Picture Project / Florence County / Mt. Zion Rosenwald School

This three-room school in the Mars Bluff community of Florence was built in 1925 as a Rosenwald School. Rosenwald Schools were partly funded by Chicago businessman Julius Rosenwald, then-president of Sears, Roebuck, and Company, to help educate black students across the rural, segregated South. The program existed in South Carolina from 1917 until 1932, during a time when South Carolina’s Constitution prohibited black children from attending school with white children. (This prohibition took root in our 1895 constitution and remained in effect, in many communities, until as late as 1963.)

Mt Zion Rosenwald School Mars Bluff

Benton Henry of Latta, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Interestingly, another school sat on this site prior to the construction of the Rosenwald School. That school was built around 1870 by Mt. Zion Methodist Church, located across the street. When the school burned in the early 1920s, Mt. Zion helped secure funds for its replacement. The Rosenwald Foundation stipulated that black and white communities must work together to raise matching funds in order to receive building monies for new schools.

Mt Zion Rosenwald School

Benton Henry of Latta, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Children from first through sixth grades were taught at the new school, called Mt. Zion School or Mars Bluff School. Due to limited funding, school met for only part of the year, eliminating two to four months from a typical school year.

Mt Zion Rosenwald Marker

Benton Henry of Latta, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The school operated until 1952, when the Mars Bluff Consolidated School opened. Today the school remains very much as it was when it was built in 1925. However, the porch was restored sometime in the 1980s during a preservation effort. Mt. Zion United Methodist Church contributes to the preservation and maintenance of the building.

Rosenwald Mars Bluff

Benton Henry of Latta, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Mt. Zion Rosenwald School is listed in the National Register:

Mt. Zion Rosenwald School was built in 1925 as a rural black school. It was significant for its role in the general development of public education for blacks in the state from 1895 to 1954 and also for its role in one of America’s largest non-residential experiments in standardized architecture intended to provide “separate but equal” facilities for white and black school children. The school also acts as a reminder of Julius Rosenwald Fund’s commitment to the improvement of black education and racial cooperation in the south in the early twentieth century. Construction of the project was funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which helped build more than 5,300 black school buildings across the south from 1917-1932. To receive money from the Fund, the local black community and local white community both had to contribute.

Most of the schools were phased out in the 1940s and 1950s as improved roads and the introduction of school buses allowed consolidation of students into more efficient and larger facilities. The Mt. Zion Rosenwald School was typical in construction of a “two or three teacher” type school. The school is a rectangular frame building with tall exterior windows designed to take advantage of the climate and available light.

Plan Your Trip: Mt. Zion Rosenwald School

Where is Mt. Zion Rosenwald School located?
Address: 5040 Liberty Chapel Road, Florence, SC 29506
GPS Coordinates: 34.179850,-79.643673
What else should I see?
Mt. Zion Methodist Church 0.1 mile
Hewn Timber Cabins 1.7 miles
Francis Marion University 1.8 miles
Gregg-Wallace Tenant House 2.6 miles
Show me more like this!
  • Florence Historic Sites
  • Mars Bluff Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina National Register
  • See other South Carolina Rosenwald Schools
  • See other South Carolina Schools
    Mt. Zion Rosenwald School Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Marshall Theresa says

      June 12, 2021 at 7:23 AM

      My mother taught at this school and lived with the Hooper family. Please comment with any information.

      Reply
    2. Bernard James says

      July 20, 2017 at 7:31 PM

      Have family members who were students there. Any student listings by name/ surname?

      Reply
    3. Dennis Doctot says

      April 16, 2017 at 4:29 PM

      Interesting know more about this and its history. I may have had family members who attended this school.

      Reply

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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