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Trinity School (Athens, Alabama)

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School in Alabama, US (1865–1970)

Trinity School
Location
Athens, Alabama
Limestone County
United States
Information
School typePrivate
Founded1865
FounderMary Fletcher Wells
Closed1970
AffiliationAmerican Missionary Association,
Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission

Trinity School (1865–1970) was a private secondary school for African American students in Limestone County, Alabama, and was located in Athens, Alabama, United States.

History

It was founded by Mary Fletcher Wells in 1865. The school was sponsored by the Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission and the American Missionary Association, located in a Baptist church initially. It was the only high school for Black students in the county and the first school in the northern half of the state offering kindergarten for Black children, during the time of Jim Crow laws. Wells initially taught under the protection of armed guards. The school had an integrated faculty by 1892. Wells would teach, canning fruits and vegetables for the winter, and returned north to raise funds for the school in the summers. She remained at the school for twenty-seven years.

In 1907, it was relocated to Fort Henderson where a new school building was built on the ruins of Fort Henderson, and succeeded a wooden school building on the site.

In 1950, the school was transferred from the American Missionary Association to the state of Alabama. Additional school property followed six years later. Trinity was closed in 1970, after court-ordered desegregation.

Legacy

A historical marker by the cistern that served the 1865–1907 school building commemorates the school's history. A historical marker is also located at the Fort Henderson site. There have been efforts to preserve and restore what remains of the school sites and buildings.

Alumni

References

  1. ^ "Trinity School, Athens, Alabama: Dare To Make a Difference". Library and Instruction Services. August 26, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "Trinity School (Athens, Ala.) | Amistad Research Center". amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu.
  3. "Athens Alabama February news". Visit Athens Alabama. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  4. "Trinity-Fort Henderson". Athens Alabama business and news directory. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  5. "UAH spotlight event with author Charlotte S. Fulton". The University of Alabama in Huntsville. January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  6. Willard, Frances Elizabeth (October 23, 2016). "A woman of the century; fourteen hundred-seventy biographical sketches accompanied by portraits of leading American women in all walks of life". Internet Archive. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  7. ^ "Trinity School Cistern Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
  8. "Trinity School". Encyclopedia of Alabama.
  9. ^ "Trinity School Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
  10. "Fort Henderson Site and Trinity School, Athens, Limestone County (Places in Peril 2012)". Alabama Heritage.
  11. "Postcard resurrects memories of early Trinity School building". Enewscourier.com. April 11, 2010.
  12. ^ Writer, Lt Col James L. WalkerGuest (September 3, 2010). "Trinity High School had many distinguished graduates". Enewscourier.com.

34°47′51″N 86°58′49″W / 34.7976°N 86.9803°W / 34.7976; -86.9803

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