Rosenwald and Newberry schools

NEWBERRY — Who is Rosenwald and what did he have to do with schools in Newberry County?

Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932) was a wealthy businessman. He was part owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company. Rather than keep all of his wealth for his family, Rosenwald chose to be a philanthropist. His friend, African American educator Booker T. Washington, convinced him of the need for better African American schools.

The Rosenwald school funds provided seed money and guidelines for new schools, workshops and teacher homes in the south. There were 5,000 Rosenwald buildings built across the south from the 1917s until the late 1930s. Newberry County had 26 schools built in this time frame. Only Greenville County in South Carolina had more Rosenwald Schools.

For more information about Rosenwald Schools in South Carolina go to scdah.sc.gov.

If you attended a Rosenwald School in Newberry County, your Museum wants to preserve your story. If your parents or other relatives attended a Newberry County Rosenwald School and shared their memories with you, your Museum wants to preserve their stories also.

The information that is gathered and any memorabilia gifted to the Museum from our community is the groundwork, hopefully, for a special Museum exhibit in the future on Newberry County Rosenwald Schools.

This gets us back to YOU.

Do YOU have a story? We would love to preserve your story and share it with our community.

Do YOU have any memorabilia? We would love to preserve it for future generations.

Do YOU have photos or papers? We would love to make them available to all.

Call the Newberry Museum at 803-597-5215, or contact Steven Knapp at: director@thenewberrymuseum.com