Near Portal in Bulloch County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Willow Hill Elementary School for Negroes
A Georgia Equalization School
Photographed by David Seibert, January 18, 2015
1. Willow Hill Elementary School for Negroes Marker
Inscription.
Willow Hill Elementary School for Negroes. A Georgia Equalization School. Willow Hill School was established in 1874 during Reconstruction as one of the first schools for African Americans in Bulloch County. It was privately supported until being sold to the local Board of Education in 1920. In 1954 the county built a new “equalization” school as part of a statewide strategy to resist federally mandated integration. These schools addressed blatant geographic and racial disparities in education with new, modern (but still segregated) facilities and improved curricula. Willow Hill was one of five such African-American schools in Bulloch County and consolidated several older rural schools: Bennett Grove, Scarboro Grove, Rehovia, Gays Grove, Free Chapel, and Johnson Grove. The school closed in 1969 as part of the countys desegregation plan, and the students and faculty sent elsewhere. It reopened as an integrated intermediate school in 1971 with new faculty.
Willow Hill School was established in 1874 during Reconstruction as one of the first schools for African Americans in Bulloch County. It was privately supported until being sold to the local Board of Education in 1920. In 1954 the county built a new “equalization” school as part of a statewide strategy to resist federally mandated integration. These schools addressed blatant geographic and racial disparities in education with new, modern (but still segregated) facilities and improved curricula. Willow Hill was one of five such African-American schools in Bulloch County and consolidated several older rural schools: Bennett Grove, Scarboro Grove, Rehovia, Gays Grove, Free Chapel, and Johnson Grove. The school closed in 1969 as part of the countys desegregation plan, and the students and faculty sent elsewhere. It reopened as an integrated intermediate school in 1971 with new faculty.
Erected 2014 by The Georgia Historical Society, Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center, and the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation. (Marker Number GHS 16-2.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic
Location. 32° 30.817′ N, 81° 53.867′ W. Marker is near Portal, Georgia, in Bulloch County. It is on Willow Hill Road (County Route 6110) half a mile south of U.S. 80, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4235 Willow Hill Road, Portal GA 30450, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Coastal Plain. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Willow Hill School and Community (was approx. 0.4 miles away but has been permanently removed).
Photographed by David Seibert, January 18, 2015
3. Willow Hill Elementary School for Negroes Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on August 30, 2017. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2017, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 644 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on August 30, 2017, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.
