Brumfield High School | |
Mississippi Landmark
No. 001-NAT-0968-NR-ML
[2] | |
Location | 100 St. Catherine Street, Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 31°33′27″N 91°23′33″W / 31.557382°N 91.392528°W |
Built | 1925 |
Architect | William Steintenroth |
NRHP reference No. | 93001139 [1] |
USMS No. | 001-NAT-0968-NR-ML [2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 21, 1993 |
Designated USMS | January 7, 1993 |
Brumfield High School, formerly G. W. Brumfield School, was a segregated public high school for African American students built in 1925 and closed in 1990; located in Natchez, Mississippi. [1]
It has been listed as a Mississippi Landmark since January 7, 1993; [2] and as a National Register of Historic Place for architecture, education, and cultural heritage since October 21, 1993. [1]
The first African American public school in the city of Natchez was Union School, built in 1871. [1] [3] However Union School (K-12 public school) only had 13 rooms and could not accommodate the demand. [3] By 1925, Brumfield High School was opened to alleviate the overcrowding issues. [3] Natchez High School (at 64 Homochitto Street, a former location) was built a few years after Brumfield School in 1927, and was specifically designed as a public high school for white students-only. [1]
The Brumfield High School was a two-story brick brick building designed by architect William Steintenroth in a Classical Revival style. [1] [4] The school namesake was George Washington Brumfield (1866–1927) who had taught classes at the Union School and served as a principal, after his arrival to Natchez in the 1890s. [1] [5] [6] Brumfield was also the Sunday school teacher at Zion Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Zion Chapel AME Church), located near the campus. [1] In 1935, the graduating class was 40 students. [7]
In 1970, Brumfield School remained racially segregated at the classroom-level, with white students and white teachers in one room versus black students with a black teachers in another. [8] The school was closed in 1990, and the city invested one million dollars into converting the former school campus into apartments for welfare recipients, the Brumfield School Apartments. [9] [10]
G. W. Brumfield, principal
Media related to Brumfield High School, Natchez at Wikimedia Commons