Allen-White School
United States historic place
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Allen-White School, also known as Hardeman County Training School, was a Rosenwald school in Whiteville, Tennessee, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Whiteville, Tennessee
United States
Allen-White School | |
School in August 2010, before fire | |
   | |
| Location | 100 Allen Extension Street Whiteville, Tennessee United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°20′01″N 89°08′51″W |
| Area | 0.2 acres (0.081 ha) |
| Built | 1918 |
| Architect | Dresslar, Fletcher; Smith, Samuel L. |
| Architectural style | Rosenwald Plan 6A |
| NRHP reference No. | 05001214[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 9, 2005 |
Description
The school was started in 1905 as Hardeman County Training School, a school for African Americans that held classes in a Masonic lodge building. The school was led by Jessie C. Allen, who is one of the two men that Allen-White School was later named for. Circa 1918–1920, the school's own building was built on donated land with a $4000 bank loan obtained by the school's trustees, matched by a $4000 donation from the Julius Rosenwald Fund.[2][3]
The school's second namesake, J.H. White, became school principal in the 1928–1929 school year. In 1930 the school added a junior high school program and in 1932 it expanded to include the four grades of high school. The school's first high school class graduated in 1933.[2][4] Allen-White was Hardeman County's only high school for African Americans and enrolled students from throughout the county; some students boarded in Whiteville in order to attend.[4][5]
After it closed as a school, the building was acquired by an organization associated with the El Canaan Missionary Baptist Church.[3]
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[6] It was destroyed in an arson fire in May 2012.[3] Alumni of the school hoped to rebuild it and contracted with an engineering company to investigate the feasibility of reconstruction.[4]
