Douglass School in Lawton, Oklahoma, is a historic building and was a former Rosenwald school for African American students active starting in 1931. The school campus closed in 1974.
Douglass School | |
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| Location | 102 East Gore Blvd., Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 34°36′34″N 98°23′05″W / 34.60944°N 98.38472°W |
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | 1931 |
| Architect | Noftsger and Lawrence |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements, Modern Movement |
| NRHP reference No. | 08001148[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 25, 2008 |
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2008.[2] It is also known as the Lawton Douglass School, Dougiass Junior–Senior High School, Douglass Colored School, and Douglass Learning Center.[3]
Pre-history
editThe Douglass School, then known as "Douglass Colored School" in Lawton was founded in 1907 as a one room school.[4] It was named after the abolitionist Frederick Douglass. In 1929, the Douglass School received accreditation as a high school.[3]
History
editIn 1930, school district received money from the Rosenwald Fund for a two-room, brick building.[3] The building was completed the following year in 1931.[3] The new school building was used as a separate junior and senior high school with the same name.[3] During the 1930s, the African American population of Lawton almost doubled.[3] Three structure additions were added to the Douglass School to accommodate the population increase, a large gymnasium building was added to the back of the school, with two wings.[3] It is suspected the additions may have been funded, or partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA).[3]
In the late 1940s, the United States Army expansion of nearby Fort Sill increased the local population, and four classroom additions were added to the Douglass School.[3]
The African American population of Lawton in 1950 was 3,212 people; and that same year the school district planned to add eight-room addition, with toilets.[3] The school board hired the architectural firm of Noftsger and Lawrence (B. Gaylord Noftsger and William “Martin” Lawrence) of Oklahoma City for the projects.[3] The Noftsger and Lawrence addition was completed in August 1951.[3] By the spring in 1952, the Dougiass School was admitted to the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges.[3]
After Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court case that outlawed racial segregation, Oklahoma made plans for desegregation of their schools in July 1955.[3] The district claimed desegregation was "completed" by January 1956.[3] By 1966, the remaining Douglass School students were absorbed into other schools within the district, which diminished the loss of the secondary school.[3]
The campus closed as a school by fall of 1974.[3]
Modern use
editSee also
edit
References
edit- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ↑ "Douglass School". NPGallery, Digital Asset Management System.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Douglass School". National Park Service. Retrieved March 19, 2026. With accompanying pictures
- ↑ Irvin, Dona L. (1992). The Unsung Heart of Black America: A Middle-class Church at Midcentury. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-0902-3.
- 1 2 Payeton, Dallas (November 19, 2021). "Renovations being made to historic Lawton school". KSWO-TV. Retrieved March 20, 2026.