Cadentown School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cadentown School |
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Cadentown School, 1901 - slate reads "Caden town No1 JW Durett Teacher"
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| Address | |
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705 Caden Lane
Lexington
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Kentucky
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40509
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| Information | |
| Opened | circa 1879 |
| Closed | 1922 |
| Grades | 1–6 |
The Cadentown School in Lexington, Kentucky was an important public school for African-American children. It was part of the Fayette County Public Schools system when schools were separated by race. The first Cadentown School building was used from about 1879 to 1922. It is no longer standing today.
However, a different building, known as the Rosenwald Fund School, was built nearby between 1922 and 1923. This building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is recognized as a special historical site.
Contents
The Start of Cadentown School
The Cadentown School was a vital part of the Cadentown community. This small village was located in the eastern part of Fayette County, Kentucky. It was created when a white farm owner named Owen Caden sold land in small pieces to African-Americans and people who had been displaced by the Civil War. They wanted to start new lives.
The community built homes, roads, and other important buildings. Some of these buildings, like two historic churches and a lodge, are still standing. The Cadentown Baptist Church was one of the first buildings, built in 1879. The church offered some of its land to build the first school.
A New Kind of School: The Rosenwald Fund
Around 1914, Kentucky started hiring supervisors to help improve schools for African-American students. One supervisor worked in Fayette County. Another person, Florence G. Anderson, helped teachers learn new ways to teach subjects like home economics.
In 1917, a man named Julius Rosenwald started the Rosenwald Fund. This fund helped build new schools for African-American children in rural areas. The fund would donate money if the local community also raised money. This was called "matching funds."
Fayette County and its residents worked to get matching funds for five schools and one workshop. The Cadentown School is the only one of these Rosenwald Fund schools in Fayette County that is still standing today.
The new Cadentown School was a one-teacher school. It was designed by Frankel-Curtis Company, Architects and Engineers. The school cost $3,000 to build. The Rosenwald Fund contributed $500, and the community raised the rest. The new school opened in 1923 and served the community until it closed in 1947. After that, the Cadentown Baptist Church used the building for activities. Later, the property was sold to a private owner.
What the School Building Looked Like
The Cadentown School building, funded by the Rosenwald Fund, is a one-story wooden building. It is about 22 feet wide and 43 feet deep. The roof is simple and sloped, covered with shingles. The building sits on concrete supports.
Inside, the building has five main areas:
- a small entrance area
- two cloak rooms, one on each side of the entrance, where students could hang their coats
- the main classroom, which was about 21 feet wide and 29 feet deep. It had a chimney for a heating stove. There were also two large blackboards, though one is now missing.
- a domestic science room at the back of the school. This room was used for teaching cooking and other home skills. It also had a chimney for a cook stove.
All the inside walls and ceilings were covered with narrow wooden boards. The school had very large windows. These windows let in a lot of natural light, which helped students see better while they were learning.
Efforts to Preserve the School
The Cadentown Neighborhood Association has been working hard to save this important piece of Black history in Kentucky. For a while, the private owner of the property did not want to sell or fix the building, which was falling apart.
However, around 2005, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government bought the property. They planned to fix up the building. This effort aims to preserve the Cadentown School so future generations can learn about its history.
See also
- Day Law
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Fayette County, Kentucky
- Rosenwald Schools
