Centerville Industrial Institute Explained

Centerville Industrial School, later the Bibb County Training School was a school for African American students in Centerville, Alabama, the county seat of Bibb County. The school was founded in 1900 and opened in October of that same year, and its teachers and the principal were African American. Henry D. Davidson, sometimes called Henry Damon,^[1] served as teacher and principal, and his wife Lula also worked at the school until her death in 1903.

It was the only school of higher learning and advanced training for Black students in or adjacent to Bibb County at the time.

Operations

In 1910, the property on which the school operated was valued at $5,500 and the school's annual operating costs of $1,500 were covered by concerts, subscriptions, and Davidson's efforts to keep costs low. As of 1908, there were 152 students, 82 male and 70 female with five teachers, three male and two female. Much of the school's programming was held within Howland Hall, a two-story five-frame building that dated to 1889.^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

Henry Damon Davidson (1869-1955) is credited as the school's founder. He was born in Bibb County in 1869 and eventually attained a Bachelor's Degree from the Tuskeegee Institute in 1934. Davidson was honored for his long history with and dedication to the school and the Mt. Sinai African Methodist Episcopal church in Centreville for which he was superintendent in 1945.^[4] He was a delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.^[5]

In 1918, the school became the Bibb County Training School.^[6]

Howland Hall burned in a fire in 1960 and little of the building remains.^[1] A new school was completed in 1966 and named in honor of Henry Damon Davidson, but the school closed in 1969. It re-opened in 1970/1971 as the Centreville Elementary School and by 2008 it was known as the Centreville Middle School.^[7] The current school includes the Henry Damon Davidson Library and Museum, which opened in 2017.^[8]

It became known as H. D. Davidson High School and graduated its last class in 1969.^[8]

Legacy

The University of Virginia has a photograph of the school.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Davidson High School . Alabama Historical Commission.
2. Web site: 1910 . Centerville Industrial Institute . http://web.archive.org/web/20240307235732/https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/era-of-progress-and-promise-1863-1910-the-religious-moral-and-educational-development-of-the-american-negro-since-his-emancipation/501169?item=640778 . 2024-03-07 . 2024-03-07 . North Carolina Digital Collections.
3. Book: Hartshorn . William Newton . Era of progress and promise, 1863-1910 : the religious, moral, and educational development of the American Negro since his emancipation . 1910 . 358.
4. News: 1945-01-20 . Centerville, Ala Honors Educator . 2024-03-08 . New Pittsburgh Courier. newspapers.com . 14.
5. Book: Wright, Richard Robert . Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church: Containing Principally the Biographies of the Men and Women, Both Ministers and Laymen, Whose Labors ... Helped Make the A.M.E. Church what it is : Also Short Historical Sketches ... . 1916 . Book Concern of the A.M.E. Church . 79 . en.
6. Web site: Alabama Authors » Blog Archive » DAVIDSON, HENRY DAMON, 1869-1955. . 2022-05-26 . en-US.
7. Web site: School History / School History . 2024-03-08 . Bibb County School District. en.
8. Web site: Hobson . Mike . 2022-05-21 . Alvin Rice Honored by H.D. Davidson School Alumni Association . 2024-03-08 . The Bibb Voice . en-US.
9. Web site: Virgo. search.lib.virginia.edu.