Dayton in Liberty County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Annie Colbert - Rosenwald School
Photographed By James Hulse, September 25, 2022
1. Annie Colbert - Rosenwald School Marker
In the late 1890s, the school district hired their first African American teacher, Annie (Fairchild) Colbert (1866 - 1961). Born in Houston, she attended Houston schools and then Tillotson Institute in Austin. She taught at the Gregory School until she married railroad porter Tony Colbert.
Forbidden to teach school in Houston as a married woman, she and her husband moved to Dayton where Annie accepted a position at a one-room shack. Upon arrival, she gathered her students and, together, they built an improved one-room frame schoolhouse near Luke and Prater streets. Mrs. Colbert continued to teach the African American students of Dayton until 1918, instilling the value of education in her students and within the community.
In 1918, the African American school relocated to a site near the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church until 1927, when the school district built the Dayton Colored School. Sadly, it burned in 1929, that same year, the school district and community partnered with the Rosenwald School Building Program to construct a school for the African American
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Erected 2019 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 22415.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Churches & Religion • Education • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1883.
Location. 30° 2.749′ N, 94° 52.816′ W. Marker is in Dayton, Texas, in Liberty County. Marker is on South Colbert Street, 0.1 miles north of Lacour Street, on the left when traveling south. The marker is located in front of the Colbert Elementary School next the the school sign. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 231 South Colbert Street, Dayton TX 77535, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Runaway Scrape (approx. ¼ mile away); Pleasant Hill Baptist Church (approx. 0.3 miles away); First Baptist Church of Dayton (approx. 0.4 miles away); Dayton's Early Economy (approx. 0.4 miles away); Dayton's Early History (approx. 0.4 miles away); Early History of Dayton's African American Community (approx. 0.4 miles away); Dayton's Namesake (approx. 0.4 miles away); 1937 Dayton City Hall (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dayton.
Photographed By James Hulse, September 25, 2022
2. Annie Colbert - Rosenwald School Marker next to the Annie E. Colbert Elementary School Sign
Also see . . . Rosenwald Schools. Texas State Historical Association
The Rosenwald Schools were the brainchild child of Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, and Julius Rosenwald, a Chicago philanthropist and president of Sears, Roebuck and Company. In 1912 Rosenwald gave Washington permission to spend some of the money he had given to Tuskegee to build six small schools in rural Alabama. At that time, most Black children in the rural South, including Texas, attended classes in dilapidated buildings with poor equipment and “hand me down” books from White schools. Washington sought to change this situation by launching and completing a pilot program with these six schools (1912–13). Pleased with the outcome, Rosenwald agreed to fund a larger program. In 1917 he established the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and in 1920 he began the implementation of the rural school building program for Black youths. The program continued through 1932 and furnished more than $28 million in fifteen states.(Submitted on September 27, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
Photographed By James Hulse, September 25, 2022
3. The Annie Colbert - Rosenwald School Marker in front of the Annie E. Colbert Elementary School
Credits. This page was last revised on September 27, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 27, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 135 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 27, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
