Georgia Governor Herman Talmadge created the Minimum Foundation Program in 1949 as part of a statewide equalization effort to improve school buildings while maintaining racial segregation. Completed in 1956, Springfield Central High School served grades one through twelve and at the time had the largest enrollment in the Effingham County school system. As one of five hundred equalization schools built for black students in Georgia, Springfield enrolled nearly 700 students until it closed in 1970 and became the integrated Springfield Central Junior High School. Its original nine red-brick buildings with outdoor walkways exemplify the International Style of architecture, a cost-effective design characterized by simple lines, like many midcentury schools across the nation.