Marian Anderson High School

The name picked a singer who had been shut out. In 1939 the Daughters of the American Revolution refused Marian Anderson the use of Constitution Hall under a whites-only policy, and she sang instead on Easter Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial for an integrated crowd of more than 75,000. Madisonville's Black students chose her name in the 1950s, while their district stayed segregated until December 1970. Rosenwald money helped build the 1926 schoolhouse, and the program required Black communities to raise matching funds. The Handbook counts 129 Black pupils in the district's two schools in 1935, against 467 White.

What the plaque says

Marian Anderson High School In 1880, Madisonville's first school for African American students was established on the northeast side of town in a one-room schoolhouse. Spencer Davis served as the first teacher. In 1885, the school was moved to this site, on land donated by the Rev. Neal Mccloud, who taught the school's 40 students. Other early teachers included Ministers. Despite the difficulties students and educators faced, the school continued to grow. By the 1920s, a new facility was needed. Funded by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, a new schoolhouse opened in 1926. It had a cafeteria and eight classrooms, some of which could be opened together to form an auditorium. The school was the site of interscholastic events, proms, parent-teacher association meetings and special programs. Citizens also gathered at the school for the community Juneteenth celebration. In addition to its regular curriculum, the school offered woodwork, painting and general repair training, as well as facilities for canning and for a farmers' shop during the Great Depression. In the 1940s and 1950s, several rural schools consolidated with Madisonville Colored High School. During the 1950s, the school district constructed new facilities at this site, and the students voted to change the school's name to Marian Anderson High School, in honor of the world-renowned contralto. Madisonville was one of the last school districts in the state to integrate, and Marian Anderson High School closed in December 1970, serving later as an intermediate campus. An alumni group continues to meet, raising funds for scholarships to benefit Madisonville's youth and working to preserve the history of the city's African American Community. (2004)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Boggy State Park — 17 mi
  A 1,847-acre park in Leon County named for a settlers' palisade of 1840, with a 15-acre lake, short trails and the story of Tennessee farmers, the Keechi and a Ranger captain.
• George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum — 35 mi
  The library of the forty-first president on the Texas A&M campus, opened in 1997, where George and Barbara Bush and their daughter Robin are buried in a family plot on the grounds.

More markers nearby

• Wilson Chapel Methodist Church — steps away
• CCC Camp Site — 0.4 mi
• Truman Kimbro — 0.6 mi
• Thomas Beck — 0.6 mi