Built in 1927 near Colesville, Maryland, the Smithville Colored School was one of sixteen schools for African Americans constructed in the county with financial assistance from the Julian Rosenwald Fund to provide "colored" students a better opportunity for education. The land was donated, the community raised money to supplement the Rosenwald Fund and donated materials and labor, and Montgomery County provided funds for the school's completion. The county Board of Education operated the school, but teachers were paid less than white teachers, books were previously used, and supplies were limited. The cooperative effort between the Julius Rosenwald Fund and African American citizens gave a tremendous boost to public education for African Americans in the South during segregation in a separate but extremely unequal environment. In spite of this disparity of treatment, students from the school became doctors, lawyers, teachers, and skilled tradesmen. The school closed in the spring of 1952 when all Montgomery County schools for "colored" children were consolidated.
