Chesterfield Colored School

Front: This was the site of the Chesterfield Colored School, a segregated school built in 1937 to serve African Americans. The wood frame building originally had eight classrooms and enrolled students in grades 1-8. Additional classrooms and an auditorium were built in 1943-44, and grades 1-12 attended by 1948. Student activities included basketball, chorus, clubs, a newspaper, literary society, and student council. Reverse: By the early 1950s, more than 500 students were enrolled at Chesterfield Colored School. The campus burned down on November 21, 1952. The school reopened in temporary housing, where it remained until 1954-55, when pupils transferred to Gary High School (formerly Zoar School) and Edwards Elementary. The latter was built as part of S.C.’s equalization campaign to preserve segregation.