Watkinsville in Oconee County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
E. D. Stroud School
A Georgia Equalization School
Photographed By David Seibert, May 17, 2014
1. E. D. Stroud School Marker
Inscription.
E. D. Stroud School. A Georgia Equalization School. E.D. Stroud School was established in 1956 as part of a statewide “equalization” effort for Georgia’s African-American public schools. As part of Georgia’s massive resistance to federally mandated school integration, politicians and school officials sought to address the blatant geographic and racial disparities in education by constructing hundreds of new (but still segregated) schools across the state during the 1950s-60s. This school was built to replace the Watkinsville Rosenwald School, located here until its demolition in 1956. Named for Rosenwald School Principal Edwin David Stroud, E.D. Stroud School included a home economics lab as well as a workshop and cannery in addition to traditional academic subjects. In 1969, as part of a countywide plan for desegregation, E.D. Stroud School became the integrated Oconee County Intermediate School. The school was renamed Colham Ferry Elementary School in 1996.
E.D. Stroud School was established in 1956 as part of a statewide “equalization” effort for Georgia’s African-American public schools. As part of Georgia’s massive resistance to federally mandated school integration, politicians and school officials sought to address the blatant geographic and racial disparities in education by constructing hundreds of new (but still segregated) schools across the state during the 1950s-60s. This school was built to replace the Watkinsville Rosenwald School, located here until its demolition in 1956. Named for Rosenwald School Principal Edwin David Stroud, E.D. Stroud School included a home economics lab as well as a workshop and cannery in addition to traditional academic subjects. In 1969, as part of a countywide plan for desegregation, E.D. Stroud School became the integrated Oconee County Intermediate School. The school was renamed Colham Ferry Elementary School in 1996.
Erected 2014 by The Georgia Historical Society, the Watkinsville City Council, Bethel Baptist Church, the Oconee County Historical Society, the Oconee County Board of Education, and the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation. (Marker Number 108-2.)
33° 50.9′ N, 83° 24.483′ W. Marker is in Watkinsville, Georgia, in Oconee County. Marker is at the intersection of Colham Ferry Road and Morrison Street, on the right when traveling south on Colham Ferry Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 191 Colham Ferry Road, Watkinsville GA 30677, United States of America. Touch for directions.
After the dedication ceremonies, held in the school auditorium, attendees walked down to the road to the site of the marker.
Photographed By David Seibert, May 17, 2014
5. E. D. Stroud School Marker
Attendees at the dedication ceremony on May 17, 2014, gather at the covered marker.
Photographed By David Seibert, May 17, 2014
6. E. D. Stroud School Marker
The marker unveiled at the dedication on May 17, 2014.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 25, 2017. It was originally submitted on September 25, 2017, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 445 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on September 25, 2017, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.
