Madison Park School

Madison Park School grew out of the Madison Park Community, founded by 14 former slaves in 1880. In 1890, Elijah Madison Jr., Charles Branson, Charles Braswell, and others donated funds to build a private school, but a storm soon destroyed the first building. General P. Madison rebuilt it. The first teachers from 1890-1906 were P. Hatchet, Rev. Joe and Carol Arrington, and Miss Carrie Madison served as the first principal. In 1913, Julius Rosenwald and community residents contributed to the construction of a two-teacher school building. In the early 1930s, the school was added to the county system. In 1954, a four-room cement block building was built, and in 1961 the original Rosenwald School was torn down and a brick addition with an auditorium and cafeteria was completed. Community teachers included Prince E. Madison and Frankie M. Winston; cooks included Gertrude Johnson, Mamie C. Motley, Annie Singleton, Willie Slaughter, and Sarah Thornton; custodians included Gogladdis Chambliss and Elmetia Gholston. The school continued as an elementary school until desegregation began in the 1970s, and it is now the community center for Madison Park. It was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on March 29, 2012.

Montgomery, Alabama · United States