Long Ridge near Mars Hill in Madison County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School
1928
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 25, 2023
1. Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School Marker
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places, and the Rosenwald Schools series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1928.
Location. 35° 48.384′ N, 82° 32.481′ W. Marker is near Mars Hill, North Carolina, in Madison County. It is in Long Ridge. Marker is on Mount Olive Drive (State Road 1555) ¼ mile south of Long Ridge Road, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 225 Mt Olive Dr, Mars Hill NC 28754, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Bascom Lamar Lunsford (approx. 1½ miles away); Mars Hill College (approx. 1½ miles away); Rural Heritage Museum (approx. 1½ miles away); Founders Hall (approx. 1½ miles away); Mars Hill University (approx. 1½ miles away); a different marker also named Mars Hill College (approx. 1½ miles away); Spilman Hall (approx. 1½ miles away); Wellness Center (approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mars Hill.
Regarding Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School.
this page online
Mars Hill School was completed in September 1928 at a total cost of $2,093, of which the school board contributed $1,143. The Rosenwald Fund contributed the usual $500 for a two-room school, plus an additional $250 because by this time, the Fund offered one-and-a-half times the usual grant amount to the first school requesting aid in each county. According to oral tradition, John Ferguson, a local African American gentleman, gave the $200 required from the community to match the Rosenwald grant.…
In 1959, the county school board asked the local school committee to select a new name for the Mars Hill School, in order to "add prestige and dignity to the school." The school was renamed Anderson Elementary School after Joseph Anderson, an African American man enslaved to J.W. Anderson, a founder and trustee at Mars Hill College. Joseph Anderson made the bricks for the first building at the college and was taken to jail as collateral for the college's unpaid debts in 1859.…
Anderson Elementary School was closed as a result of school desegregation in Madison County.
The school board initially resisted desegregation … The board's attorney, A.E. Leake, advised the board that there was "no other course to follow except to follow the law and integrate the schools." Therefore, rather than consolidating theschools or sending white children to the African American school, Anderson Elementary School was closed in 1965 and the children integrated with Mars Hill (white) School.Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 25, 20232. Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School Marker
Also see . . .
1. Mars Hill School (PDF). National Register nomination for the school building and accompanying coal shed, which were listed in 2018. (National Park Service) (Submitted on July 28, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
2. Our Story, This Place. Home page of the Friends of the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School, a community organization dedicated to preserving the schoolhouse and sharing its history. (Submitted on July 28, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 51 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 28, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
