NPS eyes historic Black school in Maryland as park site

By Rob Hotakainen | 06/14/2024 01:25 PM EDT

The agency recommended the designation for the San Domingo School, one of more than 5,000 schools built across the South during the Jim Crow era by Julius Rosenwald, the late businessman and Jewish philanthropist.

The San Domingo School.

The San Domingo School, which was a four-teacher school in Wicomico County, Maryland, is one of thousands of so-called Rosenwald schools. Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck and Co., helped to fund building the schools, would serve Black students during segregation in the South. Acroterion/Wikimedia

The National Park Service on Thursday identified a small two-story building in rural Maryland that once served as a school for Black children as a possible national historic site.

In a study sent to Congress, NPS recommended the designation for the San Domingo School in Sharpsburg. It’s one of more than 5,000 schools built across the South during the Jim Crow era by Julius Rosenwald, the late businessman and Jewish philanthropist.

NPS said it examined a total of 16 sites as part of the study, which Congress requested in 2020. But the agency said the San Domingo School was the only one that met its criteria to become a new park site.

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The agency also recommended that Congress create a Rosenwald School Network Program to provide federal help for other entities already involved in preserving the schools.

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