Merritt School
School in Bullock County, Alabama, US
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Merritt School, also known as the Old Merritt School and Midway Community Center, is a historic building and former two-room Rosenwald School for African American students in Bullock County, Alabama, United States, that was built around 1922.
Merritt School | |
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| Location | Old Troy Rd., 0.5 miles south of U.S. Route 82, near Midway, Alabama |
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| Coordinates | 32°04′29″N 85°32′03″W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | c.1922 |
| Architect | Samuel L. Smith |
| MPS | The Rosenwald School Building Fund and Associated Buildings MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 98000110[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 20, 1998 |
| Designated ARLH | November 2, 1990[2] |
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998;[1] and the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1990.[3] It also has a historical marker erected 1998 by the Bullock County Historical Society and the Alabama Historical Association.[4]
History
The 2 acres (0.81 ha) of land for the school was sold by Margaret Elizabeth Merritt in 1921 for US $5 to the state of Alabama.[3] The Merritt School building was designed by architect Samuel L. Smith's, following his own book Community School Plans (1924), a one-story frame building, built to standard Design No. 20 and No. 20-A for a two-teacher Rosenwald school.[3] It was modified in c.1935, and in c.1946.[3]
The local African American community raised $1,000, the State of Alabama contributed $800; and the Rosenwald Fund contributed $800 to build the school structure.[3]
The heirs of Elizabeth Merritt sold adjoining lands for $1.00 to the State of Alabama in the 1960s, so they could modernize the school.[3] The Merritt School continued to be used for educational purposes until it was renovated in 1978.[3] It is now a community center.[5]
