Watchman Institute facts for kids

The Watchman Industrial School and Camp, also known as the Watchman Institute, was a special school founded in 1908. It was created by Reverend William S. Holland in Providence, Rhode Island, to provide education and job training for young black people. Reverend Holland based his school on ideas from Booker T. Washington, another famous educator.

In 1923, the school moved to North Scituate after Holland bought a new property. The school closed in 1938 during the Great Depression, a time when many schools and businesses struggled financially. The school faced challenges, including fires in 1924 and 1926. Newspapers at the time suggested the Ku Klux Klan might have been involved, as the group was active in the area. After the school closed, Reverend Holland and his wife continued to run a summer camp at the same location until 1974.

School History and Purpose

The Watchman Industrial School was started by Reverend William S. Holland. He had studied at Virginia Union University and was very passionate about educating young black people. In 1908, he opened the school at 140 Codding Street in Providence.

Holland wanted his school to be as successful as other important schools like the Hampton Institute and the Tuskegee Institute. These were historically black colleges that taught both academic subjects and practical job skills. The Watchman Industrial School was called an "industrial school" because it taught young people useful trades for work, along with regular school subjects. This was a popular way to educate young people at the time, helping them prepare for jobs. Reverend Holland even took in young people who had gotten into trouble, offering them a chance to learn skills instead of going to a reform school.

By 1910, the Watchman Industrial School became an official organization in Rhode Island. In 1917, a group called the Phelps-Stokes Fund studied schools for black students. They described the Watchman School as a "small elementary school" that needed better management, and they felt its job training part was not very strong.

Moving to North Scituate

The Pentecostal Collegiate Institute in North Scituate, 1905.

In 1920, Reverend Holland bought the campus of the former Pentecostal Collegiate Institute in North Scituate. This school had moved to Massachusetts the year before. Holland then moved the Watchman Institute to this new location in 1923.

The buildings on the campus were designed in 1839 by Russell Warren, a famous architect known for his Greek Revival style in New England. Reverend Holland advertised his school in December 1923 in The Crisis magazine, which was published by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He called it "the ideal Home for Boys and Girls age 14 years and upwards."

The school experienced two suspicious fires, one in 1924 and another in 1926. A former student also reported seeing a burning cross on the school's lawn in the 1930s. Newspapers from the 1920s suggested that the local Ku Klux Klan group was suspected in the fires. The KKK had become active in western Rhode Island after World War I, mainly because of strong feelings against immigrants. No one was ever arrested or charged for these incidents.

After the school closed, Reverend Holland continued to run the summer camp until he passed away in 1958. His second wife, Viola Grant Holland, then took over the camp. She ran it until 1974, when it had to close because of money problems.

In 1978, the school complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which recognizes important historical sites. The buildings were later fixed up in the 1970s and turned into apartments called Scituate Commons. In 1985, Rhode Island officially recognized the site as an important African-American historic place.

About William S. Holland

Early Life and Education

William S. Holland was born in October 1866 in Virginia. He likely went to local schools for black students. He graduated from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, in 1897.

Marriage and Family

In 1899, after college, Holland married Evalina Brown. They had one son, William F.B. Holland, who was born in Rhode Island in March 1900.

After Evalina passed away, Holland married Viola E. Holland. She was born in 1901 and passed away in Rhode Island in 1986. She continued to run the summer camp for many years after his death.