Lincoln School

Lincoln School. . , In 1869, the abandoned Madison County Circuit Clerk's office at 1210 N. Main Street was designated as Edwardsville's "colored" school. It later became known as "Lincoln School." Though segregated, it was the first state-funded free public school for African-American children in Edwardsville. Free public education was afforded white children in 1864. , The original school was razed in 1911, and a new four-room brick school was erected on the same site for black children in grades one through ten. In 1929, two additional classrooms and a gymnasium were added. The curriculum was expanded to include 11th grade in 1935 and 12th grade in 1940. For the first time, black students were able to complete their education in Edwardsville, the Board of Education integrated black students into the local school system in the Fall of 1951, but none of the African-American educators were rehired. Lincoln School was closed in 1972, despite the objections of parents and teachers., During Lincoln School's 81 years as a black school, the building served not only as Edwardsville's center of African-American education but also, along with their churches, as a center for Edwardsville's black community. As a representative of Lincoln School, the charismatic educator Christopher Columbus Jones, who served as principal from 1902-1950, was the link from the Board of Education to the African-American community. The historic Lincoln School building serves as a tangible reminder of the era of segregation in the public schools and a monument to the legacy of its continuation to the Edwardsville community.