Centerville Industrial Institute
| Centerville Industrial Institute | |
|---|---|
 Centerville Industrial Institute, c. 1915 | |
| Location | |
1621 Montgomery Hwy, Centreville, Alabama, U.S. | |
| Coordinates | 32°56′33″N 87°06′56″W / 32.9424°N 87.1156°W |
| Information | |
| Other names | Centreville Institute, Davidson High School |
| Former name | Bibb County Training School (1918–1966) H. D. Davidson High School (1966–1969), |
| Established | October 1900 |
| Closed | 1969 |
| Designated | November 6, 1975[1] |
Centerville Industrial School (1900–1969), also spelled as Centreville Industrial School, was a school for African American students in Centreville, Alabama, the county seat of Bibb County. It was the only school of higher learning and advanced training for Black students in or adjacent to Bibb County at the time.[2] The school was also a Rosenwald School. It was later known as the Bibb County Training School and finally as H. D. Davidson High School for educator Henry Damon Davidson. It now operates as the Henry Damon Davidson Library and Museum.
It has been listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage since November 6, 1975.[3]
History
The school was founded in 1900 and opened in October of that same year.[4] Henry Damon Davidson and his spouse Lula Julia Davis Davidson were the school's founders.[5][6][7][8] Henry served as teacher and founding principal, and Lula also worked at the school until her death in 1903.[2][5][9]
As of 1908, there were 152 students, 82 male and 70 female with five teachers, three male and two female.[2] In 1910, the property on which the school operated was valued at US $5,500 and the school's annual operating costs of $1,500 were covered by concerts, subscriptions, and Davidson's efforts to keep costs low.[2][7]
Much of the school's programming was held within Emily Howland Hall, a two-story five-frame building that dated to 1889.[2][8][10] In 1918, the school became the Bibb County Training School.[9] Howland Hall burned in a fire in 1960, and little of the building remains.[8]
A new school was completed in 1966 and named in honor of Henry Damon Davidson, being known as H. D. Davidson High School, but it graduated its last class in 1969.[4]
Closure and legacy
The campus re-opened in 1970–1971 as the Centreville Elementary School, and by 2008 it was known as the Centreville Middle School.[7] The current school includes on the campus the Henry Damon Davidson Library and Museum, which opened in 2017.[4]
The University of Virginia has a photograph of the school in the Jackson Davis Collection of African American Photographs.[11]
References
- ^ "Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage Listings as of April 7, 2023" (PDF). ahc.alabama.gov. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Centerville Industrial Institute". North Carolina Digital Collections. 1910. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ "The Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage" (PDF). preserveala.org. Alabama Historical Commission. January 8, 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c Hobson, Mike (May 21, 2022). "Alvin Rice Honored by H.D. Davidson School Alumni Association". The Bibb Voice. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Hartshorn, W. N. (William Newton) (1910). An Era of Progress and Promise, 1863–1910. Boston, MA: Priscilla Pub. Co. p. 362 – via University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Library, Internet Archive.
- ^ Wright, Richard Robert (1916). Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church: Containing Principally the Biographies of the Men and Women, Both Ministers and Laymen, Whose Labors ... Helped Make the A.M.E. Church what it is : Also Short Historical Sketches ... Book Concern of the A.M.E. Church. p. 79.
- ^ a b c "School History / School History". Bibb County School District. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Davidson High School" (PDF). Alabama Historical Commission.
- ^ a b "Davidson, Henry Damon, 1869–1955". Alabama Authors. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ Hartshorn, William Newton (1910). Era of progress and promise, 1863-1910 : the religious, moral, and educational development of the American Negro since his emancipation. p. 358.
- ^ "School house. Bibb County Training School". search.lib.virginia.edu.
