The History of Catawba Rosenwald

Around 1927, the first Catawba Rosenwald building was opened. It was a simple two room building that housed all of the African-American children of Catawba County. Some years later, the county built a new two story building with a gym. In 1940, this building burned down in a huge blaze. After this happened, there was some question about whether or not to build a new building. The community wanted the building rebuilt. The new building was completed in 1942. The auditorium of this building was so large that they had movies for the community every Friday night. They also held weddings and funerals in the auditorium as well.

In 1965, with integration right around the corner, the county built an even larger facility including a new gym (which is built on the old Catawba city dump). The people were very excited about these new buildings. But in 1999, all of the Catawba Rosenwald buildings fell into disrepair and were released for county use. Then in 2007, Catawba Rosenwald was brought back to life.  The buildings were given a second chance. They were repainted and repaired and once again the community had a meeting place as well as students and teachers roaming the halls.

by Quintin Knight
Challenger High School