| Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School | |
| Motto: | "self help through self work" |
| Location: | Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Coordinates: | 40.026°N -75.745°W |
| Established: | 1905 |
| Founders: | John Sheppard Trower, William Abraham Creditt |
| Closed: | 1993 |
The Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School (DIAS) was a school for African American students Downingtown, Pennsylvania in Chester County, Pennsylvania, from 1905 until 1993.[1] Its motto was "self help through self work".[2] It was located in what is now East Brandywine Township.[3] [4]
The school was founded by John S. Trower and William Abraham Creditt. Both were well-known, successful African Americans from Philadelphia. Tower was a local businessman and Creditt was pastor of the city's first African Baptist church.[1]
The school's purpose was to provide vocational training.[5] By 1907, an illustrated report on the school was published showings the school's chapel, barn, dining room, and sewing room.[6] [7] The school was included in Philadelphia's colored directory in 1910.[8]
The school was aimed at educating African-American youth that struggled with schooling.[9] In July 1912 the school announced that it would be sending fifteen graduates to Lincoln University that fall.[2]
James N. H. Waring Jr. (1890–1973), the son of a prominent physician, served as the school's principal in the 1930s.[10] Mortelia Womack, who worked as a secretary for W. E. B. Du Bois, applied for a job in the school in 1931 and Du Bois sent the school's principal, J. H. N. Waring, Jr., a reference for her.[11]
Howard D. Queen served in the mathematics department after his military career.
In 1980, a thirty-six-page publication authored by Clay Griffin about the school was published.[12]
Delaware County Community College's Downingtown campus is on the site of the former school.[13]
Notable alumni include Cab Calloway famous for, among other things, "Minnie the Moocher, or The Hi-De-Ho song."