Lincoln School (Canton, Missouri) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Lincoln School
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Front and northern side
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 Location in Missouri
Location in the United States
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| Location | MO B, Canton, Missouri |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1880 |
| NRHP reference No. | 83001029 |
| Added to NRHP | February 10, 1983 |
Lincoln School in Canton, Missouri was a special school for African-American children. It opened in 1880 and helped students from Canton and nearby Lewis County, Missouri. The school closed in 1955 after a very important court decision called Brown v. Board of Education. This decision, made by the U.S. Supreme Court, said that separate schools for different races were not fair. Lincoln School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Today, you can only see the outside of the building.
Contents
The School's Early Days
The story of education for African-American children in Canton began in 1866. An old post office building was turned into classrooms. Students from first to eighth grade went there, and some adults attended too. This first school only lasted one year. The Canton Board of Education could not afford the rent or the teacher's pay.
Another school started in 1868 in a different place. By 1870, the school was held in Canton's African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church. Adults who had been enslaved were also allowed to attend. They paid a small fee to learn.
Building a New School
In 1871, a new school was built for white students in Canton. This showed a big difference in the quality of schools. The African-American community felt this was unfair. Some repairs were made to the AME church in 1872, but the problem continued.
In 1880, African-American residents asked the Canton Board of Education for a better school. A group was formed to look into the costs. On May 1, 1880, Canton voters approved spending $800 to build a new school for African-American children.
Lincoln School is Built
Soon after the vote, bids were asked for the building project. J.S. Eaton won with a bid of $700. The new school was 42 feet long and 24 feet wide. It was made of red brick walls that were 13 inches thick. The building sat on a strong base of limestone blocks.
The inside had a wooden floor. However, the nearby Mississippi River often flooded, making the wooden floor unusable. It was later replaced with concrete. The school was built on land that was once a public park. Today, the area around the school is known as Martin Park.
M.L. Clay was Lincoln School's first teacher. He was paid $35 a month. Besides teaching children during the day, he also taught night classes for adults. He paid for these classes himself.
Life at Lincoln School
Teachers at Lincoln School often changed, except for one special person. Charles W. Lear was the first African-American teacher at the school. He taught there for 32 of the school's 75 years!
The school's facilities were not as good as the white schools in Canton. Indoor toilets and electricity were not added until 1924. Lincoln School only taught children up to eighth grade. If students wanted to go to high school, they had to find their own way until 1946.
From 1946 to 1955, the Canton school board helped. They bussed African-American students in grades nine through twelve to Hannibal, Missouri. This was a long trip, 40 miles each way, every day.
Closing and Restoration
In 1955, Lincoln School closed its doors for good. This happened after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. The last classes were held in May of that year, and Mrs. Birdie Nickerson was the final teacher.
After 1955, the school building was used for storage and became very run down. Things started to change after it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 1983. In 1995, the school district gave the building to the City of Canton.
In recent years, a group called the Lincoln School Restoration Association has been working to fix up the school. A special plaque is now on the outside, and a sign tells the school's history. The building is still being restored, so it is not open to the public yet.
Lincoln School was also the inspiration for a fictional school in children's stories by author Eleanora E. Tate. Ms. Tate grew up in Canton and attended first grade at Lincoln School in its last year.
