Arkadelphia Rosenwald School

A Fisk University card for the Arkadelphia School dates its establishment to 1929-30, later than the plaque's 1920s. It lists a two-acre site and a total cost of $3,950: $3,000 from public funds, $500 from the Rosenwald Fund and $450 from the Black community itself. That local share is the sacrifice the plaque describes, in cash alongside the materials and labor of neighbors. The card also carries an added entry reading "Ins. $1,750", which it does not explain. The building was demolished about 1993 for a church, and the marker is what remains to find.

What the plaque says

Arkadelphia Rosenwald School Located ten miles south of New Boston and five miles northeast of Maud, the community of Arkadelphia formed in the mid- to late 1800s to serve the African American community following the Civil War. Arkadelphia became a thriving community for many years and grew in population in the early 1900s. In the 1920s, the Arkadelphia School was built as part of the Rosenwald Fund started by businessman Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington. The program aimed to assist in the establishment of African American schools in the south, and as a matching grant, communities were required to contribute cash and in-kind service donation in the form of materials and labor. The donations were great sacrifices, but the community organized committees responsible for finding and buying a school site, cutting and hauling building materials, and providing labor to construct the school. Originally constructed with three rooms, more were added, and consisted of an auditorium, office, and two classrooms, all heated by wood-burning stoves until the 1950s. The school offered classes to the 12th grade until the late 1940s when the African American schools were consolidated and 9th through 12th grades were transferred to Central High School in New Boston. Around 1965 and 1966, schools in Texas integrated and students were sent to Maud schools. The Rosenwald School in Arkadelphia became a community center, providing an event center for area activities and a place for youth programs. Around 1993, the school was demolished for a new church. Although no longer standing, the Rosenwald School represented a commitment and determination to educate the Arkadelphia community and contributed to the heritage and culture of the area. (2017)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Atlanta State Park — 12 mi
  A shoreline park on Wright Patman Lake, leased from the Army in 1954, where Caddo ancestors farmed the Sulphur River and wagon traces such as the Bobo Ferry trace still cross the woods.
• Museum of Regional History — 19 mi
  Texarkana's oldest museum, in an 1879 brick building on State Line Avenue, with Caddo pottery, one of Scott Joplin's pianos and a research library of city directories and photographs.

More markers nearby

• Old Boston — 3.1 mi
• New Boston — 6.2 mi
• Bowie County — 6.8 mi
• Redwater — 7.0 mi