Rosenwald School Acres

THE HISTORY OF ROSENWALD SCHOOL ACRES…

Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932) was a Chicago businessman, philanthropist and part-owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company whose Jewish family fled persecution in Europe. Rosenwald believed all Americans deserve an education. 1912: He established the Rosenwald Fund for "the well-being of mankind” and began to work with educator/former slave, Booker T. Washington and his Tuskegee Institute to build 5,300+ rural school buildings for colored children across the Jim Crow south.

John Wesley Wilson (8/12/1860 - 4/20/1948) and his wife, Amarintha Kittrell Wilson (8/9/1864 - 4/4/1944) were well-educated and concerned about providing a formal education for their little brown grandchildren. In 1921, as per Rosenwald guidelines, the couple transferred 2 acres of land to the Huntsville Independent School District and, with the help of family and the community, raised the funds needed for the creation of the original two-room schoolhouse—one of 79 funded in Texas.

1921-1962: Ester Bridges, Maddy Jewel Walker, Thelma McGuire and returning alumnus Mary Helen Wilson Wiseman, M.Ed. (granddaughter of John and Amarintha) and other educators, Rosenwald grew in size and popularity as a location for sporting events, picnics and horse races. The road to the school from Huntsville was named "Rosenwald School Road." That was eventually shortened and inaccurately spelled "Rosenwall Road.”

1962: Rosenwald is demolished and the land auctioned to David Branch who, in 1963, sold it back to Charlie Wilson (John and Amarintha’s eldest). 1966: Mary Helen asked her father to will Rosenwald’s 2 acres to her.

2020: The property was inherited by Mary’s eldest daughter, Kijana Wiseman-Fusilier, M.Ed. (Kijana.com); and granddaughters, Joy Wiseman and LaTanya Brooks, M.Ed. (GrowWithStem.com). They are preparing the land for a new generation that utilizes earth-friendly, zero-impact, renewable energy.

Present: The Tuskeegee-Rosenwald property is annually used to celebrate the “Back to Our Roots” EARTH DAY MUSIC FESTIVAL.