Mill Grove: a Forgotten History: The School, Community, and People, 1900-1969

Mill Grove: a Forgotten History: The School, Community, and People, 1900-1969

Mill Grove: A Forgotten History — The School, Community, and People documents and celebrates Mill Grove School, the first high school for African Americans in the Durham County (North Carolina) school system. In addition to recognizing a history lost to most, it highlights the stories of the people, their community, and the journey toward a better and more prosperous future for their children. Mill Grove School was a Rosenwald school and only operated from 1929 to 1950. Jeanes Supervisors and the N.C. Division of Negro Education personnel were active participants in the formation of the school. The first senior class graduated in 1933 and the last in 1950. The hurdles African Americans encountered to acquire an education beyond the eighth grade are documented. The school’s presence in the community gave the residents hope that their children would not have to work in tobacco fields or factories or serve as cooks or maids in white homes. Sadly, the leaders who made the community a unique environment did not pass the Mill Grove School story and its challenging origins as a Rosenwald School to the next generation. So, the building was not protected and preserved as a historical site. Mill Grove School was torn down in 1950. The graduates and community residents who remember the school are deceased. In addition, the Durham County School Board leaders never saw the school as the first high school for African Americans. An April 26, 1953 article gave that title to Little River School which was constructed in 1936. The people who lived in and contributed to the community’s uniqueness are celebrated. Author Mae Lipscomb Rodney, PhD and retired university administrator, researched the history of her childhood community to compile this deeply personal research project. Mill Grove: A Forgotten History — The School, Community, and People is full of primary sources from the family's archives, photographs, and remembrances of individuals that lived in this unique and historical community.