Retreat Rosenwald School

Front: This school, often called Retreat Colored School, was built in 1923 for the African-American students in and near Westminster. A two-room, two-teacher, elementary school, it was built by local builder William Walker Bearden of Oakway at a cost of $2,300. It was one of more than 500 schools in S.C. funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation between 1917 and 1932. Reverse: This public school replaced a one-room private school established by Pleasant Hill Baptist Church about 1870. About 50-60 students a year, in grades 1-7, attended Retreat Colored School from 1923 until it closed after the 1949-50 school year. The school was sold to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in 1950. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.