CAMPBELL COUNTY (WSLS 10) - The Campbell County Board of Supervisors presented a letter of gratitude to the Campbell County Training School Committee on Tuesday, for its plans to restore the historic Rosenwald School properties in Rustburg.
The letter said the county and the committee "share a mutual aim of preserving and honoring Campbell County's rich and diverse heritage, as well as a desire to build upon partnerships that promote community service, cultural awareness, and educational opportunities for all generations."
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On March 1, the Board of Supervisors voted to declare the property surplus, and to deed the property to the committee to restore it and eventually house a variety of educational programs and provide community meeting space.
The committee is a group of volunteers who organized to preserve the school, which was known in Campbell County as "the school on the hill."
Julius Rosenwald, part-owner of Sears and Roebuck, helped to finance many southern schools for African Americans in the early 1900s. Local citizens paid a portion of the building funds.
In Campbell County, Gabe Hunt and the Rev. T.W. Tweedy mortgaged their homes for $500 to help build the Campbell County Training School. It offered the first post-sixth grade education for black students in Campbell County. The curriculum was designed by Booker T. Washington and focused on trades for men and women.