The original RCTS Building with the 1942 Graduating Class in front of the building.
Front row (kneeling) Junior Strickland from Bacon Level, Hezakiah Carstarphen
(teacher), Samuel McLain from Malone, James T. Marable from Malone; (standing)
two unidentified, Texanna Marable (Royston) from Malone, Precious Glenn from
Wedowee, Myrtis Wilkes from Wedowee, Thelma Stevens (Minnifield) from Anniston/Roanoke,
Emma Kate Hand from Wehadkee, and unidentified. (Courtesy Warren MinnifieldCollection)
The building, authorized in 1917, opened in 1920. It burned to the ground in
February 1943.
RCTS
was one of 12 schools in Randolph County built with the aid of the
Rosenwald School Foundation. It was built at a cost of $14,700.00. It was
funded by monies raised as follows:
Negroes $5,000,
Whites $2,000,
Public $5,900 and
Rosenwald Foundation $1,800.
Rosenwald
Schools were built according to strict architectural plans. Plans were
numbered. The lower the number, the smaller and simpler the school. A Type 1 school was a one-teacher school. A type 7 school was a school that was substantial
in size.
Randolph County Training School was built while
the school building program was managed by Mrs. Booker T.
Washington, wife of the head of Tuskegee Institute. Control was later transferred to Nashville, TN after it became too large to be effectively led by Tuskegee. RCTS architectural plans were drawn up by architects at Tuskegee Institute.