Community to Celebrate Grand Opening of Restored Historic School

Residents of the Pine Grove community and Richland County will celebrate the grand opening of a restored historic Rosenwald school Thursday. 

The ceremony will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pine Grove Community Center.

The Rosenwald school, located next to the Pine Grove Community Center, was one of 15 schools in Richland County built for the education of black students. It is the only remaining Rosenwald school in Richland County.

The Pine Grove Rosenwald School was built in 1923 with money from philanthropist Julius Rosenwald and money raised by the community. It cost a total of $2,500 to build the school. After the school closed, members of the Pine Grove community bought the building and land from the school district and used it for meetings and events. 

The community deeded the building and property to the Richland County Recreation Commission in 2004 so that it could be restored. 

With a total of $144,000, including grants from the Richland County Conservation Commission, funds from the former State Competitive Grants program and the Lowe’s Home Improvement Charitable and Educational Foundation Preservation fund, the recreation commission was able to restore the school to its original form.

The school was dedicated to the National Register of Historic Places in May 2009. In March 2011, the Richland County Recreation Commission received a Preservation Award from the Historic Columbia Foundation for its effort to restore the historic Pine Grove Rosenwald School. 

The inside is now furnished with old desks and books. The recreation commission plans to work with schools in the area to use the Rosenwald school as a field study for history lessons, said Leigh Cheatham, director of communications for the Richland County Recreation Commission.

For more information on the Pine Grove Rosenwald School, visit the Richland County Recreation Commission's website.