Mount Joshua Rosenwald School

This Rosenwald School near the border between Kershaw and Fairfield counties now stands in disrepair. When it was built for the 1926-1927 school year, it was a two-teacher schoolhouse serving local African-American children. Not far down the road from the school stands Mount Joshua Methodist Church.

The church was organized in 1870, while the present sanctuary was built in 1914. A one-teacher schoolhouse once stood on the now-vacant land beside the church, constructed around the turn of the twentieth century. Called Mount Joshua School, it was one of five schools belonging to the Pine Grove District #16 African-American school system.

The one-room school was replaced by the above building in 1926. Built in part with Rosenwald funds, it was one of 13 Rosenwald Schools in Kershaw County. Rosenwald Schools were built across the rural South between the years 1917 and 1932 to educate black students. The schools were named in honor of Julius Rosenwald, then the president of Sears and Roebuck, who provided funds for the schools. Local communities contributed much of the financial support for the schools, with Rosenwald also donating a significant portion. Rosenwald Schools were designed to allow maximum light and ventilation for the benefit of teachers and students.

Many South Carolina schools consolidated in the 1950s, leaving Rosenwald schools vacant. Several have been converted into community centers. Mount Joshua Rosenwald School and the surrounding property are privately owned.

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