Reflections- Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network, Vol. 12, no. 2 (Dec. 2014)

continued on page 2
private era. During this period, Willow Hill staff were also
supported by Jeanes Supervisors, teachers who directed curriculum
activities, led industrial training initiatives and leveraged county
support for books and supplies. Their salaries were financed
through the philanthropy of Anna T. Jeanes, who left her estate to
support African American teachers. Julia P. Armstrong Bryant was
the Jeanes Supervisor for Bulloch County with the longest tenure,
working from 1913-1923 and 1926-1939.
The Rosenwald building at Willow Hill survived until 1954,
when a new, modern building replaced it. This building would be the
sixth and current building in the school’s history. The “new” Willow
Hill School was one of Georgia’s 500 African American schools
that emerged as equalization schools following the 1954 Brown vs.
Board U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision that was intended to
end segregation in public schools. The school building was designed
by Hudson and Jenkins of Atlanta. Willow Hill was one of five
equalization schools that were
constructed in Bulloch County,
replacing approximately 25
one-room schoolhouses. The
school had indoor restrooms,
a cafeteria equipped with a
stage/auditorium, a teacher’s
lounge, clinic, library and 14
classrooms.
Equalization schools,
built from the 1950s to 1970,
represented the first period in
African American education in
Georgia when public schools
were financed through the State
School Building Authority.
The buildings were part of
a strategy to respond to the
integration directive by running
Willow Hill is a rural African American community near
Portal, Georgia. While driving along U.S. Highway
80 west from Savannah to Hopeulikit, motorists come
upon a fork in the road to head towards Portal. Along this road is
an additional sign called Willow Hill Road. The Bulloch County
Historical Society erected a historic marker at the entrance into
the Willow Hill community. African Americans have lived in this
area since enslavement, and most people in the community are
landowners today. During Reconstruction, the first priority for
this Bulloch County community was to ensure their children had
a decent education, so a group of community members, led by the
Donaldson, Parrish and Riggs families, started the first Willow Hill
School in 1874. The initial building was a turpentine shanty and
the children’s first teacher was Georgiana Riggs Parrish, who began
instructing other children at age fifteen. Gradually, the shanty was
replaced by a one-room log schoolhouse.
As school enrollment
increased, Moses Parrish, one
of the school founders, sold the
building to the Bulloch County
Board of Education for eighteen
dollars, and Willow Hill became
a public school in 1920. For
the next 30 years, buildings
were added as needed. The
Julius Rosenwald Fund provided
a $250 grant to Willow Hill,
public funds totaled $150 and the
African American community
contributed $1,107 towards the
school’s Rosenwald building
that cost $1,507. Additionally,
African Americans provided
land and sweat equity, just as
they had during the school’s
Volume XII, No. 2 December 2014
Jeanne Cyriaque, African American Programs Coordinator
Historic Preservation Division
Preserving the Spirit of Willow Hill
The 1954 Willow Hill School was saved by alumni who purchased it at
auction. Today, the building is known as the Willow Hill Heritage and
Renaissance Center. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
2
two racially separate, yet equal school systems. Though these
schools were not equal to their white counterparts, they provided
jobs for African American educators, libraries, science and sports
programs that had not existed before and extended the school to the
larger community around them. Equalization schools were designed
to include cafetoriums, for example, that were multi-purpose spaces
that functioned as the cafeteria and auditorium alike with their
stages, eating and meeting facilities. Recreational space was another
equalization school characteristic, as the land surrounding these
schools provided athletic fields and, in some cases, gymnasiums
on the campus.
Jeanne Cyriaque, continued from page 1
Preserving the Spirit of Willow Hill
Faculty and students assembled in front of the Rosenwald building on
Willow Hill’s campus for class photos until that building was demolished
to construct the equalization school in 1954.
Photo courtesy of the Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center
The current Willow Hill school building, constructed in
1954, operated throughout the equalization school era as the Bulloch
County Board of Education, like many county school systems,
fiercely fought integration by implementing tactics like Freedom
of Choice plans. This option did not work because only the African
American students chose to attend previously all-white schools.
By 1968, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
canceled federal appropriations to the county. Ultimately, by 1971,
Willow Hill was downsized to grades four through seven, and a
white administrator, Jerry Brown, became the principal of Willow
Hill. Brown was the former principal of the all-white Portal High
School. He remained the Willow Hill principal from 1971-1992.
The school closed in 1999. For the next five years, Willow Hill’s
future use remained uncertain while the community continued to use
the building. Finally, Bulloch County put the dreaded “For Sale”
sign on the property. A group of Willow Hill descendants pooled
their resources and attended the auction, hoping to acquire it. This
committee of twelve people bought the school in 2005 for $112,000.
They formed a board of directors, achieved 501(c) 3 nonprofit status,
and began a new era to preserve the spirit of Willow Hill.
Visitors view exhibits in the Willow Hill library. The library
contains interior transom windows that provide additional light
to the hallways. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Dr. Alvin D. Jackson is the president of the Willow Hill
Heritage and Renaissance Center today. He was one of the first
African American students to integrate Bulloch County schools. The
board of directors of Willow Hill includes four physicians, a Florida
state representative, teachers, a real estate developer, and a banker.
All board members are direct descendants of the school’s founders.
Dr. Jackson was raised by his grandparents after his mother died in a
tragic fire. Growing up around community elders, he recorded their
stories, attended services in their places of worship, and amassed
volumes of Bulloch County obituaries to document the African
Americans who lived there. He attended the Willow Hill School
and later became a medical doctor and state health director in Ohio,
where he practices today. His oldest daughter, Dr. Nkenge Jackson,
who currently is an obstetrician in Savannah, is one of the younger
board members. Nkenge inherited her father’s love of local history;
at age 13 she received the first place award at National History Day
for her project on the Willow Hill School.
After the board of trustees purchased the school in 2005,
they held a school reunion in 2007 to engage community support
for the project. Over 300 people attended. Among the participants
were descendants of the Garfield Hall family farm, one of Georgia’s
The 1918 Bennett Grove School is the last remaining African American
one-room schoolhouse in Bulloch County. It was a feeder school for Willow
Hill. Georgia Southern University faculty helped to document the site
based upon Willow Hill oral histories from former students and Bennett
family descendants. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Heritage programs on the ten-acre Willow Hill campus always
include outdoor activities. Clarissa Clifton demonstrates her
recipes for cooking on an open hearth after the historic marker
dedication. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
African American Centennial Family Farms located near the school.
These descendants were former students and teachers at Willow
Hill. Now, each summer on Labor Day weekend, the school hosts
a heritage event.
Willow Hill found an invaluable partner in Georgia
Southern University (GSU), as faculty from various departments
assist them in preserving the school. One of the first contributions
was Defining Their Destiny: The Story of the Willow Hill School.
This history of Willow Hill was written by F. Erik Brooks, a GSU
faculty member.
Georgia Southern University Interior Design professor Diane
Phillips analyzed chairs and developed a plan for their use in the
primary classrooms at Willow Hill. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Georgia Southern University faculty partnered with the
Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center to host a symposium
and exhibit that was funded by the Georgia Humanities Council: The
Past, Present and Future of the Bennett Grove School. The Bennett
Grove School is the last remaining one-room African American
schoolhouse in Bulloch County. Once a feeder school to Willow
Hill, Bennett Grove School, established in 1918, served grades oneseven until students attended Willow Hill. Faculty and students held
a cleanup day to remove debris from the school. They helped with
documenting the site based upon Willow Hill oral histories, and
published an article about Bennett Grove in Statesboro Magazine.
GSU created a ten-panel exhibit that was unveiled at the symposium.
Dr. Brent Tharp, director of the GSU museum, also participated in
an educational session about Bennett Grove and Willow Hill with
board members at the Association of African American Museums
annual conference in Birmingham. Participants from the National Trust field study pose for a
group photo after lunch and the presentations at Willow Hill.

Incoming freshmen at GSU who are enrolled in leadership
development projects come to Willow Hill each summer to assist
with painting the school’s hallways, restrooms and some classrooms.
Faculty and students specializing in public health, marketing and
interior design contributed to visioning Willow Hill’s classrooms
for future use. Willow Hill was one of the sites preservationists
visited during the 2014 National Trust conference. Field study
participants heard about the students’ health needs assessment that
recommended the need for a community health center housed in one
of Willow Hill’s wings. Plans were presented for each classroom’s
future use, as faculty continue their partnership with Willow Hill.
Willow Hill is also the recipient of a Georgia Historical
Society marker. The Georgia Natural Resources Foundation
partnered with African American programs to bring greater
recognition to equalization schools, and Willow Hill is one of the
state’s best examples of these schools that were preserved by a
nonprofit organization and repurposed for community use. Over
100 people attended the dedication, including alumni and supporters,
teachers, Bulloch County officials, and GSU partners. Descendants
of principal Jerry Brown attended as well as former principal
Julius Abraham. Other equalization school alumni also attended
the marker dedication. They included Hunt Educational Center,
a gymnasium that was purchased and preserved by alumni and is
used for recreation in Fort Valley to alumni from the Springfield
Central School in Effingham County, working with public partners
to repurpose their school.
Willow Hill board member and director of development Dr.
Gayle Jackson, and Ray Mosley, alumnus and Bulloch County
Commissioner, celebrate the Willow Hill Elementary School
for Negroes historic marker. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
3
On October 3, 2014 the Cooper Family Farm received a
Centennial Family Farm Award in Perry. The Centennial Farm
Awards program recognizes farms in Georgia that have remained in
the same families for at least 100 years. The Cooper Family Farm
is an African American farm located near Sardis in Burke County.
Whitney Rooks, African American Programs Assistant
Historic Preservation Division
4
Cooper Family Farm:
A Centennial Family Farm
Clinton Roberts, who is a descendant of Frank Cooper, stands among
rows of fields on the Cooper Family Farm. The farm is located in
Burke County near Sardis. Photo by Charlie Miller
The family acquired this land in 1885 when Frank Cooper,
Sr., the original owner, purchased 73 acres. Frank Sr. was also the
minister at the nearby First McCanaan Baptist Church that was
listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 2001.
According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination,
“Rev. Frank Cooper organized the McCanaan Missionary Baptist
Church in 1875 and a small church was constructed on the site of the
existing church. During the 1890s, the earlier church was torn down
and a second church constructed. In 1912, the existing church was
constructed to replace the 1890s church. The church membership
included many families who worked as sharecroppers at the nearby
Millhaven Plantation in Screven County. McCanaan Missionary
Baptist Church is significant as an African American institution
that provided religious, educational, and social autonomy in rural
Georgia.” For years McCanaan Baptist was the church, school and
cemetery for that African American community. The family is still
strongly connected to the church and they remain active members.
The Cooper family stands in front of their home church,
McCanaan Missionary Baptist Church. The church was
built in 1912 and is listed in the National Register of Historic
Places. Photo by Charlie Miller
Over the next hundred years the descendants of Frank Sr.
purchased more land giving the family a total sum of 299 acres. The
main crops produced were cotton and corn. For a food and income
source, they raised cows and pigs. Today the family still owns 295.7
of the original 299 acres. 169 acres are used for growing crops.
Ownership through the years has been passed down from Frank Sr. to
his son Frank Jr; grandson, Hubert Roberts; and great-great-grandson,
Clinton Roberts. Today the major crops are cotton and peanuts.
African American Centennial Farms are extremely rare. Of
the approximately 400 Centennial Farms in the state, this is the 12th
African American Centennial Farm. It is one of the largest African
American Centennial farms. The Cooper farm is also the first African
American farm in Burke County to receive the Centennial Family
Farm Award. Good fishing is abundant on the lake that divides the
agricultural fields on the farm. Photo by Charlie Miller
5
Stephens Family Farm:
A Centennial Family Farm
Whitney Rooks, African American Programs Assistant
Historic Preservation Division
Descendants of Titus Stephens celebrate the Centennial Family
Farm Award at the family residence on the farm.
Photo by Charlie Miller
Cotton is king on the Stephens farm. This cotton bud is almost ready for
harvest. Photo by Charlie Miller
Rows of cotton can be seen on the Titus Stephens Farm tht is located off
County Line Road in Dougherty County. Photo by Charlie Miller
On October 3, 2014 the Titus Stephens Farm was recognized at
the Centennial Farm Awards in Perry. The Centennial Farms
program honors farms in Georgia that have remained in the same
families for at least 100 years. The Titus Stephens Farm is an African
American farm located in Albany, Dougherty County. Elvie Barlow,
a descendant, believes Titus Stephens acquired 100 acres of land
on County Line Rd. from his master during enslavement, J. W.
Mock. Titus Stephens and his wife had two children Titus, Jr. and
Lydia. Titus Jr. moved away but Lydia stayed on the farm. Lydia
acquired the farm in 1909 and raised her children: Cherry, Mariah
and Clemmie. Clemmie acquired the land in 1949. Clemmie’s
granddaughter, Virginia Seabrook, still lives on the farm.
Today the family still owns the original 100 acres that
Titus Sr. acquired. Virginia Seabrook and her siblings Shelby Jr.
and Pearlie Gholson are the 5th generation of Stephens’ descendants
to own this land. Virginia lives on the land and rents a portion of
it to farmers who care for the crops. Crops harvested on this land
include: cotton, peanuts, pecans and tobacco. Each crop is rotated
in alternating years. In July 2013 this family was recognized by the
Albany Herald for their long land ownership. “What amazes me is
that, through Reconstruction, through Jim Crow, through lynchings,
through the Great Depression, through the upheaval of the Civil
Rights era, through drought and through black flight to the north,
our family held onto this farm,” said Gwen Fuller, Virginia’s niece
who lives in Lawrenceville.
An African American Centennial Farm is a rarity statewide.
Of the approximately 400 Centennial Farms in the state, the Titus
Stephens Family Farm is the 13th African American Centennial
Farm. This is also the only known African American Centennial
farm in Dougherty County. The push for recognition was initiated
by Virginia Seabrook’s son, Elvie Barlow. Barlow learned of the
Centennial Farms program after the July 2013 article in the Albany
Herald. Barlow published a book about his family heritage, Covered
by the Blood: An African-American Family’s Journey From Slavery.
6
Michael Weinroth
Gala Chairman
The last surviving building from the circa 1920 Fairview campus
is the focus of current preservation initiatives. The FairviewE.S. Brown Heritage Corporation sponsored a gala for the
school’s 90th anniversary. Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Northwest Georgia Event Highlights the 90th Anniversary of the
Fairview Colored School
Historic Preservation and the Georgia Humanities Council presented
a two day Symposium at Berry College. The weekend culminated
with a Gala Dinner Event at the historic Forrest Place Hotel in
downtown Rome on Saturday, November 8, at 7:00 p.m. Former
Anchor of WSB-TV Monica Pearson served as the evening’s emcee.
Direct descendants of the Washington and Rosenwald families were
in attendance at the Gala Weekend.
This fundraising event supports the mission of the
Fairview- E.S. Brown Heritage Corporation to restore the campus.
A restored first grade building will anchor the re-envisioned
campus and will serve as the primary interpretive center for the
Fairview supporters (from left to right) Ira Levy, Jeanne Cyriaque,
Mark McDonald, Sheffield Hale, John Ware, Joyce Perdue Smith, and
Wes Ryals discussed the Fairview preservation initiative at a Rome
Rotary Club meeting. Photo courtesy of the Rome Rotary Club
Like a giant that has been asleep for 60 years, the Fairview-E.S.
Brown School in Cave Spring has finally awakened to a different
world in 2014. This old school built around 1924 and located some
17 miles from Rome, Georgia was the pride of African American
children who once attended. The Fairview School remained active
until 1954, when a new elementary school, the E.S. Brown School
was constructed. This school was one of Georgia’s 500 “equalization
schools” that were built as a response to the 1954 landmark U.S.
Supreme Court decision, Brown vs. Board.
Equalization Schools were built as part of massive
resistance to school integration and were publicly supported schools
for African Americans. The E.S. Brown School was modern and
featured indoor plumbing and water, unlike the Fairview School.
Following federally mandated desegregation in the mid-1960s, the
E.S. Brown School closed in 1968. For a few years the building was
used as a community center, but was eventually demolished. Yet the
4.0 acre Fairview School campus survived, covered in kudzu until
the alumni formed the Fairview-E.S. Brown Heritage Corporation
(FESBHC) to preserve this Cave Spring legacy in education.
What made the Fairview-E.S. Brown School unique was
that it was one of 5,300 schools that were built in 15 southeastern
states from 1912-1932 through the collaborative efforts of Booker T.
Washington, president of Tuskegee Institute and philanthropist Julius
Rosenwald, a trustee of Tuskegee and president of Sears Roebuck.
These schools served the educational needs of approximately one
third of the black children in the southeastern United States.
Today the school, while neglected and scarred is standing
upright wearing a new protective coat of Tyvek and sheets of
aluminum roofing over its head to keep the interior dry. A campaign
that started in 2009 by Joyce Perdue Smith, chairman of FESBHC,
to restore the old school, came closer to reality during a special Gala
90th Anniversary Weekend, November 6-8, 2014. Joyce’s father,
Eugene Perdue, Sr. served as principal between 1952 and1957.
Local citizens, Fairview alumni, historians, and preservationists with
the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Georgia Trust for
site. Fairview’s new “living campus” will be the first of this kind
in North Georgia interpreting the African American cultural and
educational experiences of the 20th century.
Preservation plans will also focus on the
rehabilitation of the original Julius Rosenwald building
site. While the original building has been lost, the structure’s site
will be re-interpreted as a community garden, utilizing the original
building footprint and layout. Popular garden themes are under
consideration, tapping into the growing farm-to-table and local food
movements. Camp offerings under consideration target Common
Core Georgia Performance Standards for education, including
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).
7
John G. Riley Center/Museum Unites Four States in
“Casting the Net” Project
The John Gilmore Riley Center/Museum for African American
Culture “JGRCM” is home to the Florida African American
Heritage Preservation Network. This museum in Tallahassee
is dedicated to discovering and recovering the history of
African Americans throughout the Big Bend Region in Florida.
For more information, visit their website at www.rileymuseum.
org or call 850.681.7881.
Marion McGee
Assistant Director, John G. Riley Center/Museum
On Saturday, November 1, 2014, the John G. Riley Center/
Museum officially launched its Casting the Net multi-state
museum project benefiting African American museums and cultural
organizations in four states, inclusive of: Florida, Georgia, North
Carolina and Virginia. The two-year initiative focuses on statewide
museum needs assessment, staff training, technology integration,
and intergenerational exchange between museum founders and
emerging leaders to aid in the development of sustainable statewide
networks in these southeastern states.
The John Gilmore Riley Center/Museum for African
American Culture (JGRCM), Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit
organization that has provided Tallahassee and the State of Florida
with quality historic preservation and conservation programs
since 1996. These programs help to foster appreciation of African
American history through tours, exhibits, research, education,
publications and subsequently led to the creation of the Florida
African American Heritage Preservation Network (FAAHPN).
Recognizing that African American museums were not “in the loop”
of mainstream historic preservation initiatives, the JGRCM led the
effort to organize a statewide network of museums. This Florida
Network or FAAHPN now serves as an informational and technical
assistance association that includes proprietary assets such as: A)
The Museum Guide to Core Competencies, B) Annual Network
Member Progress Report, and C) Administrative Procedures and
Management Plans, all of which are valuable, capacity building
resources that can and will be replicated within other states.
The Riley Museum in cooperation with the Florida
Network is now charged with responding to growing interest in
statewide collaboration among museums and culturally-specific
organizations in other states. The Casting the Net project partners
include the Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network
(GAAHPN); the Center for the Study of African and African
American Diaspora Museums & Communities (CFSAADMC); the
North Carolina African American Heritage Commission (NCAAHC)
and Virginia Africana (a Network of Virginia-based Museum,
History and Preservation Professionals). Site liaisons in Georgia
are Jeanne Cyriaque, African American Programs Coordinator and
staff liaison for GAAHPN and Dr. Deborah Johnson-Simon, director
of CFSAADMC.
The intent of this project is to equip museums in four
states to build alliances using a comprehensive approach to
statewide network creation. Collaboration is vital to the long-term
sustainability of the African American museum in particular and
the proliferation of African American led cultural organizations
nationwide. The initiative has been touted as a model project by
the Executive Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of
African American History and Culture, Dr. Lonnie Bunch.
The Casting the Net project includes eight multi-state
meetings in each of the four target states over a two-year period.
Through on-site training and technical assistance, the four partner
organizations will develop the knowledge and skills necessary to
serve as community resource centers in their respective states.
The project also seeks to increase understanding of the role of
museums and cultural centers as places of empowerment, a topic
that will be thoroughly explored during the Florida Network’s
upcoming Biennial Statewide Museums Conference, taking place
in Tallahassee May 18-20, 2015.
This project was generously funded by the Institute of
Museum & Library Services (“IMLS”), an independent, federal
agency that is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s
123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Casting the Net project
was one of twelve grants awarded nationwide. The mission of the
IMLS is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation,
lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. The IMLS
grant making, policy development and research help libraries
and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible
for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn more about
the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov or follow on Twitter @
US_IMLS.
The Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN)
was established in January 1989. It is composed of representatives from
neighborhood organizations and preservation groups. GAAHPN was formed in
response to a growing interest in preserving the cultural and built diversity of Georgia’s
African American heritage. This interest has translated into a number of efforts
which emphasize greater recognition of African American culture and contributions
to Georgia’s history. The GAAHPN Steering Committee plans and implements ways
to develop programs that will foster heritage education, neighborhood revitalization,
and support community and economic development.
The Network is an informal group of over 3,000 people who have an interest in
preservation. Members are briefed on the status of current and planned projects and
are encouraged to offer ideas, comments and suggestions. The meetings provide
an opportunity to share and learn from the preservation experience of others and to
receive technical information through workshops. Members receive a newsletter,
Reflections, produced by the Network. Visit the Historic Preservation Division
website at www.georgiashpo.org. Preservation information and previous issues of
Reflections are available online. Membership in the Network is free and open to all.
About GAAHPN
This publication has been financed in part with federal
funds from the National Park Service, Department of
the Interior, through the Historic Preservation Division,
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The contents
and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or
policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does
the mention of trade names, commercial products or
consultants constitute endorsement or recommendation by
the Department of the Interior or the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources. The Department of the Interior
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color,
national origin, or disability in its federally assisted
programs. If you believe you have been discriminated
against in any program, activity, or facility, or if you desire
more information, write to: Office for Equal Opportunity,
National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington,
D.C. 20240.
Published quarterly by the
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Dr. David Crass, Division Director
Jeanne Cyriaque, Editor
Lillian Davis
Dr. Gerald C. & Barbara Golden
Terry & Cynthia Hayes
Richard Laub
Kenneth Rollins
Isaac Johnson, Chair
706/738-1901
Velmon Allen, Vice-Chair
GAAHPN Network
912/261-1898
Steering Committee
Isaac Johnson
Chairman
Jeanne Cyriaque
African American
Programs Coordinator
Reflections Editor
Voice 404/656-4768
Fax 404/657-1368
jeanne.cyriaque@dnr.state.ga.us
Staff
8
Since its first issue appeared in December 2000, Reflections has documented
hundreds of Georgia’s African American historic resources. Now all of these
articles are available on the Historic Preservation Division website
www.georgiashpo.org. Search for links to your topic by categories:
cemeteries, churches, districts, farms, lodges, medical, people, places,
schools, and theatres. You can now subscribe to Reflections from the
homepage. Reflections is a recipient of a Leadership in History Award from
the American Association for State and Local History.
About Reflections
Whitney Rooks
African American
Programs Assistant
Voice 404/657-1054
Fax 404/657-1368
whitney.rooks@dnr.state.ga.us