Chestnut Grove Rosenwald School

The Rosenwald fund and community fundraising financed the school building. The community was able to contribute $2,700, and the Rosenwald fund contributed $500.The community was invested in building the school and creating and maintaining a positive school culture. At the 1931 countywide commencement, Chestnut Grove was awarded the title of “Most Improved Colored School" by the Parent-Teacher Association. The Association members were invited to visit all 29 schools in the county to make their decision. They chose the school based on “an exhibit of class, industrial and health work.”[1] The students at Chestnut Grove excelled in the classroom as well. During the 1933 commencement, Chestnut Grove did a presentation focused on home improvement. Students displayed various attractive articles for the home, such as window shades, bedspreads, and table covers, all repurposed from everyday items such as feed sacks and honeysuckle vines. Home economics was a vital part of the Rosenwald curriculum. Students were encouraged to not only learn how to perform academically but to become good homemakers as well. 

Educational opportunities outside the classroom were rare, especially outside the county. However, In 1951 forty-one students from Chestnut Grove were able to go to the Morehead Planetarium at Chapel Hill. The students were also given tours of UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina College (North Carolina Central University). Only North Carolina College at Durham was integrated at the time of their visit.

The community always found ways to step in when the school required funds. In 1947 Chestnut Grove, in need of a lunchroom, held a singing convention at the school. They were able to acquire $111.79 from this event. Later that year, the P.T.A held an event featuring the East End Community Singers to raise funds for a playground. 1n 1955, the school received capital outlay funds to finance a bus garage and shop. This was the same year that the school was approved for new heating plants. Chestnut Grove continued to improve until it closed due to integration. In 1969, The Iredell County Board of Education deemed Chestnut Grove unnecessary for public school purposes and placed the property at public auction in the Statesville Landmark & Record. The school would go to the highest bidder. The surrounding community was able to raise funds to buy the school.

Chestnut Grove is currently a community center. The community uses donations, food sales, yard sales, and rental fees to maintain the building. However, the building is still in need of many repairs. The Chestnut Grove community is working with the United Way of Iredell County to continue raising funds.

[1] “Commencement of Colored Schools”.Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), April 23rd,1931.

"Citizens Protest Until Sundown”.Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), September 15th,1927.

“Schools Given Accreditation".Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), November 21st,1955.

 Fisk University, “Rosenwald Database,” http://rosenwald.fisk.edu, accessed November 28th, 2020.

 “Colored Schools Hold Their Annual Commencement”.Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), April 25th,1933.

 “Chestnut Grove School Children Visit Planetarium”.Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), December 3rd,1951.

 “Singing Convention Benefits Lunchroom".Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), February 21st,1947.

 “Singing Sunday At Chestnut Grove”.Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), November 17th,1947.

 “County Schools Make Request For Expansion”.Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), October 01st, 1955

23rd,1931.

Notice Of Sale Of Real Property".Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), December 4th,1969.

“Group Works to Renovate Community Center".Record & Landmark (Statesville, NC), February 18th, 2020.