Beginnings
“Lincoln Heights School 1924-1943,” Lincoln Heights Rosenwald School
Lincoln Heights, like many African American schools across the region, opened its doors in the early 1920s. 1924 to be precise.1 This was the result of funding from Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington's joint project, the Rosenwald Fund.2 Like other schools built under the program, Lincoln Heights was paid for with funds that matched those raised by the local citizens. Yet Lincoln Heights was special. There were 5,300 Rosenwald Schools built across the south, and Lincoln Heights was one of only 16 Rosenwald Schools built of brick.3 Furthermore, it was one of only three Rosenwald Schools that was built for around $17,000 when most schools were built for $500 to $1,500.4 This is an extraordinary amount of money considering the Rosenwald Fund often only provided one-third to one-half the funds needed to build such a school.5
Over 5,300 Rosenwald Schools were distributed across the American South. Each school is represented by a dot on this map.
Early photograph of Lincoln Heights Rosenwald School, undated.
Ariel view of the Lincoln Heights property.
This, in many ways, demonstrates the value of education to the North Wilkesboro community: only $4,000 of the funding came from the Rosenwald Fund.6 The community, both black and white, raised the remaining funds in a variety of ways, including selling bricks to the community for 25 cents, before the groundbreaking for the school took place in 1923.7 Lincoln Heights was not just a school that was built for the community but by the community.
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[1] Wilkes County Retired School Personnel. Lest We Forget: Education in Wilkes, 1778-1978 (Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Publishing Company, 1979).
[2] Frances Hayes, “History of Black People in Wilkes Explored in Program,” Wilkes Journal-Patriot, February 26, 2014. http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/history-of-black-people-in-wilkes-explored-in-program/article_7dfd6880-9f17-11e3-b935-0017a43b2370.html
[3] Jule Hubbard, "Board hears Lincoln Heights history, appeal," Wilkes Journal-Patriot, April 12, 2013. http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/board-hears-lincoln-heights-history-appeal/article_4c1bcc90-a395-11e2-9bfa-0019bb30f31a.html
[4] Ibid.
[5] Wilkes County Retired School Personnel. Lest We Forget.
[6] Jule Hubbard, “Board hears Lincoln Heights.”
[7] Wilkes County Retired School Personnel. Lest We Forget.