Restoration of Cherry Grove Schoolhouse
Donation protected
The Cherry Grove Schoolhouse is a rare surviving example of an early 20th century rural African American school building in Georgia. The building was constructed circa 1910 on the grounds of the Cherry Grove Baptist Church (founded 1875) as a part of the 175th school district for the rural farming children of Cohentown and Sandtown.
The property is suffering from deterioration due to exposure and lack of maintenance funds. Finally, on June 23, 2020 after what has been a nearly 5-year labor of love, determination and considerable sweat-equity, our ambitious goal was realized: the Cherry Grove Schoolhouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places; it is the first and only African-American site in Wilkes County to be placed on this register! It was deemed significant in the area of education and ethnic heritage/black, as one of fifteen identified surviving pre-Rosenwald, one room schools for African Americans built on church grounds within the state; and as an excellent example of a public school that was associated with a local church.
The funds raised here will go to restoring and preserving the schoolhouse.
The Cherry Grove Schoolhouse is an enduring symbol of community self-help,
perseverance, and sacrifice exemplified in rural Wilkes County; but moreover,
whose characteristics were typical of rural Georgia, and indeed, the entire South.
Our aim is not just the restoration of the building, but also, it’s rehabilitation. That
entails, making the building amendable for limited modern usage, and therefore
sustainable. Ultimately, it should serve as a valuable contributor to the Historic
Places in the vitally important Historic Tourism Industry of Washington-Wilkes
County, Georgia.
The property is suffering from deterioration due to exposure and lack of maintenance funds. Finally, on June 23, 2020 after what has been a nearly 5-year labor of love, determination and considerable sweat-equity, our ambitious goal was realized: the Cherry Grove Schoolhouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places; it is the first and only African-American site in Wilkes County to be placed on this register! It was deemed significant in the area of education and ethnic heritage/black, as one of fifteen identified surviving pre-Rosenwald, one room schools for African Americans built on church grounds within the state; and as an excellent example of a public school that was associated with a local church.
The funds raised here will go to restoring and preserving the schoolhouse.
The Cherry Grove Schoolhouse is an enduring symbol of community self-help,
perseverance, and sacrifice exemplified in rural Wilkes County; but moreover,
whose characteristics were typical of rural Georgia, and indeed, the entire South.
Our aim is not just the restoration of the building, but also, it’s rehabilitation. That
entails, making the building amendable for limited modern usage, and therefore
sustainable. Ultimately, it should serve as a valuable contributor to the Historic
Places in the vitally important Historic Tourism Industry of Washington-Wilkes
County, Georgia.
Organizer
Barrett Hanson
Organizer
Stone Mountain, GA
