Research Guides: Ada Jenkins School and African-American Education: Additional Primary and Background Resources

Additional Primary and Secondary Resources

Overview

On this page, a variety of resources are listed ranging from primary sources to background resources on the topic of local African American education prior to desegregation. Resources below primarily related to the immediate surrounding communities of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville, NC.

Specific schools of note include:

Smithville Rosenwald School (Cornelius)
Davidson Colored School (Davidson)
Huntersville High School [Also referred to as "Huntersville Colored High School" and later "Torrence-Lytle High School"] (Huntersville)

North Carolina Digital Materials

African American Education Collection
North Carolina Digital Collection containing documents and photographs related to African American education in North Carolina before 1950 drawn from the collections of the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum and the State Archives of North Carolina. Contains materials from the Division of Negro Education of the Department of Public Instruction. Reports from local schools can be found here, including Davidson Colored School (Davidson) and Smithville School (Cornelius).

Page of High School Principals' Report for Davidson Colored School, 1937-1938

High School Principals' Annual Reports, 1937-1938, Mecklenburg County
This file includes high school principals' annual reports from schools in Mecklenburg County from 1937 to 1938. The reports include information about enrollment, grounds, equipment, educational material, schedules, curricula, staffing, and school organization. The reports affected school ratings and teacher salaries. Included here is a report from Davidson Colored School and Huntersville High School. From North Carolina Digital Collections' African American Education Collection. This is just an example of the types of reports that may be found. Reports from other years are available as well.

Rosenwald Schools

In the early 1900s, the Rosenwald Fund was established by Julius Rosenwald and through this fund, millions of dollars were donated to help establish schools for African-American children throughout the South, particularly in rural areas. A Rosenwald school was established in the neighboring town of Cornelius, NC in the Smithville Community. For more general information about the Rosenwald Program and its impact, please explore the resources below.

Rosenwald Schools: History South
Resources related to the history of the Rosenwald School program in North Carolina, including school plans, lists, and other secondary sources.
The Rosenwald Schools and Black Education in North Carolina
Article by Thomas W. Hanchett. Originally published in North Carolina Historical Review volume LXV, number 4 (October 1988).
Rosenwald Fund
NCpedia article about the Rosenwald Fund. Provides an overview of the program in North Carolina.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission

Many of these former African-American educational institutions have been designated as historic landmarks by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission and those reports have been linked below.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission: Designated Historic Landmarks
List of properties designated as historic landmarks by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. A list of properties along with associated reports and surveys.
Smithville Rosenwald School Report
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission report designating the Rosenwald school in the Smithville community in Cornelius as a historic property.
Davidson Colored School/Ada Jenkins School Survey and Research Report
Survey and research report by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission about the Davidson Colored School/Ada Jenkins School.
Torrence-Lytle School Survey and Research Report
Survey and research report by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission about the Torrence-Lytle School, an African-American high school in Huntersville, NC.