Near Gallion in Hale County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Oak Grove School

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2014

1. Oak Grove School Marker

Inscription. Tuskegee educator Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, Sears, Roebuck & Company president, initiated one of the most ambitiuous school building programs for African Americans in the United States. The Oak Grove School is one example of the more than 5,300 school buildings constructed in 15 southern states between 1912 and 1932 with financial support of the Rosenwald Rural School Building Fund. In 1925, the local community matched Rosenwald's gift and hired Grover Scott to erect this school on land donated by George E. Willis. The first principal was Marie Carrington Jones (1926-1936) followed by Dorothy Agnew Scott (1926-1968). Other teachers included Louise Garrett, Rebecca Mattie Agnew Burks, Roxanna Garrett Dawson, Renona Crawford Martin, Elnora Wilson Barnfield Henderson, Lois Penny Stokes, Willie Glover Love, Eunice Beard, and Rosyln Worthy Bennett.

Erected 2001 by the Oak Grove School Heritage Committee and the Cahaba Trace Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the Rosenwald Schools series

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list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.

Location. 32° 32.786′ N, 87° 40.781′ W. Marker is near Gallion, Alabama, in Hale County. It is on Oak Grove Road 0.1 miles west of Alabama Route 69, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 142 Oak Grove Road, Gallion AL 36742, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Dr. Benjamin M. Duggar (approx. 2.8 miles away); St. Andrew’s Church (approx. 2.8 miles away); Freetown (approx. 3.7 miles away); Vine And Olive Colony (approx. 7.8 miles away); St. Michael's Cemetery (approx. 8.6 miles away); St. Michael's Episcopal Churchyard

Oak Grove School image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2014

2. Oak Grove School

(approx. 8.7 miles away); U.S. Jones High School (approx. 9 miles away); Newbern Presbyterian Church (approx. 9.2 miles away).

Also see . . . Rural Southwest Alabama Historic Schools. (Submitted on April 13, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Oak Grove School Heritage Committee image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2014

3. Oak Grove School Heritage Committee

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 12, 2014

4. Oak Grove School

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on April 13, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,984 times since then and 39 times this year. Last updated on May 26, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 13, 2014, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.