ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Bull Swamp Colored School project looks to repurpose a historic Black school into a community center.
The efforts are hoping to preserve three classrooms of a schools influenced by the Rosenwald schools.
“Looking forward into the future, this is what had been accomplished in our mind and our spirit," said deacon Herbert Mack.
Mack attended the Bull Swamp Baptist Church Colored School in 1949.
The historically black school in Orangeburg dates back to 1936 and was constructed as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal program under the leadership of former president Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“There was much to learn. There was much activities going on in the classroom and we had about three classes," said Mack.
The land was purchased by former slaves on May 2, 1867.
More than 150 years later, a community group is working to restore the building into a community center.
The project is estimated to cost about $2 million. It would offer after school programs and adult education resources.
There are also plans for a commercial kitchen that will be open to local chefs and solar panels on its front lawn to provide electricity.
“We are now endeavoring to maintain the school, the church , and the cemetery on one site and making it viable to serve the community around us," said deacon Willford Pace.
The plan is to do the restoration project in three phases.
The first phase will include weatherizing the building. That's set to begin by the end of the summer.
You can donate to the Bull Swamp Baptist Church Colored School Preservation and Community Center Project through Midlands Gives.