Chambers County Training School

Chambers County Training School. Chambers County. On September 29, 1919, Chambers County Training School opened its doors for African American students. The year before, a local African American educator and merchant, C. Neal Finley, wrote an appeal to the "white citizens of LaFayette and Chambers County" to make contributions to the efforts of the Black community to raise money to build a training school. The two-story school was subsequently built on land purchased from Nepton and Lucy Adams, who were merchants and the largest African American landowners in LaFayette at the time. Chambers County Training School held its first high school graduation in 1928. In 1948 the structure burned, and a more modern structure was built at the same location in 1949. During the tenure of John P. Powell (1954-1976), another wing of classrooms, a library, and gymnasium that was also used as the cafeteria were added to the school. The school ceased being a high school in 1969 with the dismantling of the state's dual system of public education, and the name changed to Southside Middle School. On November 14, 1999, dedication ceremonies were held renaming Southside Middle School to John P. Powell Middle School in honor of long-time educator and principal Mr. John Perry Powell., Listed In the Alabama Register of Landmarks And Heritage on August 24, 2022