St. Matthews C.T.S. Site

Front: St. Matthews County Training School (C.T.S.), one of two Rosenwald Schools in Calhoun County, was built on this 4-acre site. The 1924 brick school building cost $13,500 and was paid for by public funds, monies raised by local African Americans, and the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The five-teacher building featured a hipped roof, central entrance, and banks of windows. As a C.T.S., it was centrally located to serve students from throughout Calhoun County. Reverse: St. Matthews C.T.S. offered special training for rural African American teachers and the Tuskegee model of industrial education. As a forerunner to modern high schools, a C.T.S. offered 2-3 years of advanced vocational training, mainly in agriculture and home economics. In 1949, the school was renamed for longtime principal John A. Ford (1889-1956). In 1954, the campus became Guinyard Elementary after a new high school was built.