African American Schools

African American Schools in Ohio County, KY

In 1878, there was a bill in the Kentucky Senate to authorize the building of a colored school in District 1 of Ohio County [source: Journal of the Regular Session of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, December 1877, p.764]. The bill was said to have passed due to the Democrat vote, according to the article "Colored voters remember..." in the Hartford Herald, 08/01/1877, p.2. The school teacher at the Hartford Colored School in 1880 was Joe C. H. Taylor and the school year began in September [source: Hartford Herald, "The colored school...," 09/01/1880, p.3]. Prof. McDowell from Bowling Green, KY was the teacher at the Hayti Colored School [source: "Prof. McDowell...," Hartford Herald, 09/10/1884, p.3]. In 1886 there were 11 colored schools in Ohio County, according to the Kentucky Superintendent Report, and by 1899 there (were) 8 school districts reported in the article "Statistics" in the Hartford Republican, 06/02/1899, p.3.

In 1892, there was an investigation by the Hartford Herald on behalf of the colored schools and the colored teachers who had not received their pay. The newspaper reviewed the bookkeeping of the Ohio County school superintendent and determined the colored teachers were owed their pay [source: "In case a suit is brought..." and "Cowering beneath the Herald's revelations" both in the Hartford Herald, 10/26/1892, p.2] The debate about the disposition of the colored school fund became a political disagreement between the Democrats and Republicans as to which had done more for the Negro.

Other schools in Ohio County included Rockport Colored School in District 9 with P. A. Gary as the teacher [source: "Report," Hartford Republican, 11/17/1893, p.4]. The Sulphur Springs Colored School teacher was Samantha Bracken during the 1893-94 school year [source: "Program," Hartford Republican, 01/19/1894, p.2]. There was a colored school in McHenry as early as 1894 when Miss Charlotte Eidson was the teacher [source: "McHenry Colored School," Hartford Republican, 01/19/1894, p.1]. L. W. Smith was the McHenry school teacher in 1904 [source: "The Guess candle," Hartford Herald, 01/20/1904, p.3].

In 1940, the Negro teachers in Ohio County were Delois Eidson, Kenneth Eidson, William C. Jackson, Mittie K. Render, and Ethel Tichenor [source: U.S. Federal Census].

The first schools to be listed as integrated were  Beaver Dam Elementary and High School; Hartford Elementary and High School; and Wayland Alexander School, all on p.147 of the Kentucky School Directory, 1962-63.

Names of known African American Schools in Ohio County:

Bruce School

Hayti School

Hartford School

McHenry School

Rockport School

Sulphur Springs School