AN EDUCATION LANDMARK

African Schoolhouse No. 4, the oldest oneroom schoolhouse for African Americans in Missouri, has been restored and furnished and moved to Faust Park’s Historic Village

BY WENDY TODD

After the Civil War, Missouri’s Constitution established free education for all between the ages of five-and-21. But for African Americans, that opportunity was much different.

There was an attendance rule for African American schools that required a minimum of 20 students. Black residents of Chesterfield had enough students for a school but the school district refused to build one. So the residents took the case to court in 1893 and won. The following year, a school was built for $600 and remained open into the 1950s. Now, African Schoolhouse No. 4, the oldest one-room schoolhouse for African Americans in Missouri, has been restored and furnished and moved to Faust Park’s Historic Village.

Doris Frazier, now 94, who was a substitute teacher at the school, described her experience.

“I remember walking up these little steps and through the front door, and a little desk up front, you know, waiting for the kids to come,” she said. You had to be everybody. You had to be the gym teacher, the arithmetic teacher, the reading teacher. So you had to be kind of experienced in all of those classes to keep the kids interested. It’s a long day — long day. I think it’ll be a great thing for people to just look back and say from whence we come. We no longer have to go to a one-room school.”

The St. Louis County Parks Foundation held a grand opening ceremony on March, 24 to commemorate the unveiling of the school in its new location. Anne Redford, public information manager at St. Louis County Parks, detailed the process of acquiring the historic schoolhouse.

“The Faust Park staff worked tirelessly for many years to acquire African Schoolhouse No. 4, checking in with dismissive landowners and negotiating refusals and rejections for over 30 years,” she said “Finally, an opportunity was created when the property was sold to the current resident who generously offered to donate the schoolhouse to the county. At that point, the dedicated team went to work, disassembling and tagging each log and board in preparation for the 3.8 mile journey to Faust Park.”

It was important for the St. Louis County Parks department to restore the school in order to preserve significant history.

“At the parks department, we believe firmly that our quality of life is enriched not only through parks, trails and open spaces, but by the presence of historic buildings,” Radford said. “Buildings such as African Schoolhouse No. 4 remind us of who we are and where we came from.”

The African Schoolhouse No. 4 represents a collective triumph. Black residents recognized that their children deserved an education even if political authorities disagreed. The restoration of the schoolhouse serves as a reminder of racial injustices as well as the power of the people to rail against them.

“It was an act of defiance and bravery,” Radford said, “and an extraordinary achievement that we honor and recognize today.”

Moore On Life By

CINDY MOORE