Calhoun County Training School) 7 15 Martin Luther King Dri Ve Hobson City, Calhoun County 36201
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468 S. J) erry Sireet Mo ntgomery, Alabama 36130-0900 (334) 242-3184 www.preserna la.org ALABAMA REGISTER OF LANDMARKS AND HERITAGE NOMINATION FORM FOR OFFICE USE ONLY - DATE ADDED: 1. NAME 2. LOCATION L' Street & Number: \ ' J Cit Town: -Vici._ State: fI Count : Zip: '-'lJ1C2",a<Q""",,-,-' ____ 3. CLASSIFICATION Category Ownership Status Present Use [JOistric! I1lpublic ~occupied DAgriculture D Museum 1iIsuilding(s) DPrivate D unoccupied Dcommercial Dpark D structure Dsoth Dwork in progress C!!cd ucational DPrivate residence DSite Public Acquisition Accessible I)j)Entertainment D Religious Dobject D in process Dyes: restricted DGovernment Dscientific Deeing considered Dyes: unrestricted Otndustrial D Transportation DNO DMilitary D other: 4. OWNER OF PROPERTY Name: 10\.lli\ ~ \ rl I C;o ~ C'~~ Telephone: ( 1 Street & Number:MJO ,1\ l\l\'I\e~ Ii~ rl City or Town : "b'(p( (\ State: AkA Zip : ")~ \ Email Address: 5. FLOOR PLAN & SITE PLAN (Attach sketched fioor plan and/or site plan) 468 S Ile ...... S Montgomer)' Alab ' y Ireel 6.s DESCRIPTION (334) 242.3'184 .wn~ n:a.p,,,,,,, 36130-0900 .." • ( ee aUached inslruclions f or specific. guidelines on co . '" CONDITION mpletlng Ihe descriplion.) B Excelient D Deteriorated CHECK ONE gGOOd DRuins D Unaftered Fair D Unexposed gAltered 468 S. Perry Street Montgomery, Alabama 36130-0900 (334) 242-3 184 www.llrrst'n'eala.org 7. SIGNIFICANCE (See attached in structions for specific guidelines on completing the significance.) PEpRIOD . AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE-CHECK AND EXPLAIN BELOW rehlstoflC Darcheology-prehistoric 0 . Dreligion 01O 400-1 499 Darcheolog .historic community planning Dinduslry Dscienlific 01500-1599 Dagricuttur: D landscape architecture ~:nse~atlon Dsculplure 01600-1699 D architeclure u~tIO~ D law 01700-1799 D art englnee~lng Olitera ture Dsocial history 01800-1899 Dcommerce D explorallon/s ettlement Omilitary Dlheater '900- 0 .. Ofunerary art Dmusic Dother 0 communications Ohumanl· 1a n.a n DpoliticsJgovemment SPECIFIC DATES· 468 S, Ilerry Street Montgomery, Alabama 36130-0900 (334) 242-3184 www,prtsen'.. 20 la.org 8. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES 9. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA Acreage of nominated property: _ ____________________ _ Quadrangle name: ___________________________ Enclose map showing location of property. (city or county map, state highway department map, or USGS map) If the property includes more than one building, submit a small sketch map showing the locations and relationships of the buildings. 10. FORM PREPARED BY Name/title: 1(Jf\' \lH ~s:~,vl 2/. "- lLetJ Or anization : Ci:J(I e({\ • 2€il ':> Date: (} Y\ 000 Street & Numbe r : gblA~~~'SJ Tele hone: { . O&vl City or Town: 1"\ State: Zi : 36703- Email Address: 11. PLEASE SUBMIT COLOR IMAGES OF THE PROPERTY WITH THIS FORM: Images are essential to the review process, They ca n be 4x6 color pri nts or digital images on a CD, Please see the "Instructions for Completing an AR Form" for more details on images or contact the AHC at 334 .230.2687. 12. PLEASE RETURN NOMINATION FORM AND DOCUMENTATION TO: ALABAMA REGISTER COORDINATOR ALABAMA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 468 SOUTH PERRY STREET MONTGOMERY, AL 36130-0900 C. E. Hanna School (Calhoun County Training School) 7 15 Martin Luther King Dri ve Hobson City, Calhoun County 36201 Owner: Contact: Town of Hobson City Mr. Tony Ball and Ms. Victoria Allen 600 Martin Luther King Drive Concerned Ci tizens of Hobson City Hobson City. AL 35201 719 Armstrong Street Hobson City. AL 35201 256-8 35-0617 SUMMARY:. The Calhoun County Training School is eligi ble for listing to the Alabama Register under criterion A (education and ethnic he ri tage-African American) as the only high school for blacks in Calhoun County pri or to integration. Students came from communities across the county to attend the school from Choccol occo, Anniston, Oxford, etc. The hi storic building faces south toward Martin Luther King Drive which is the main artery through town. It is located on a city bloc k in the center of the town in a dense residential area just one block fro m the old City Hall building and is considered to be the most substantial landmark in the town. It is an educational complex comprised of an original U-shaped main building, to which a gymnasium and several additions have been auached. Although the complex has undergone a few functional and physical alterations, it maintains a signi.ticant degree of architectural integrity. The overall original U-shapcd fonn and fl oor pl an are still readable and much of the original interi or remains. It maintains a large amount of its hi storic integrity with location, setting, and associat ion large ly intact and design, materials, and workmanship only partiall y compromi sed by additions and a few reversible modifications. Alterations to the original portion include the lowering of cei lings and filli ng in window openings and repl ac ing exterior doors, as well as the attachment of some addition to the rear and side of the building. It continued to serve as a school serving fi rst through twelfth grade faci lity until 1972 when area schools were integrated. When a historic survey was done in 1972, the school had an enrollment of 400 students.All of the middle school and high school blacks were sent to Oxford High School and this school became an elementary school (1 -6) for both black and white students from Oxford. It remained as an elementary school until 2006 when the new elementary school was bui lt in Hobson City right on the Oxford city line. Entrance into the complex is gained by ascending fro m the street or parking lot up a concrete walkway and into a recessed porch. A fixed 21 pane transom surmounts the double metal replacement entrance doors. The original interior noar plan featured a U shape, with a T-shaped hallway extending through the center of the building and along the rear of the front classrooms and offi ces. Rear wings extended outward to the north, fonning the U. Additional hallways extended along the innennost sides of the rear wings, accentuat ing the U and surrounding a grassy lawn courtyard. Later rear additions filled connected both wings filling in the U. Even later additio ns, two gabled one-story and two nat roof one story, extend east from the northernmost rear of the wing in the original U creating another courtyard . Additional detached faci lities wcre added to the complex in order to meet changing ed ucational needs. Additional classrooms, cafeteria and a gym nasium , wi th a stage, dressing rooms and rest rooms, were attached 10 the east of the main building. The south elevation includes a brick wall extending the depth of the front and three window groupings on either side of the entrance reflect the location of offices and classrooms. Two of these are pan of the original U-shaped plan and are joined by interior folding doors, featuring six ho rizontal panels, creating a small auditorium. Similarly, the south elevation consists of a brick wall extending Ihe depth of the front (southeast) classroom followed by single and paired replacement sashes providing illumination for the office wing. The interior of the original building features exposed concrete bloc k wall s. In the original auditorium space, currently accessible by double doors located in original "T" of the hall opposite the main entrance, the wall area features tongue and grove wood boards and plaster. All ceilings in the origi nal building have been lowered and ceilings in later addition feature metal truss beams. Floors are poured concrete and some have tile covering. Original window openings have been mai ntained, but have been filled in with plywood probably when the school was sold to the City of Oxford in 1987 who upgraded it with central heat and air. Interior spatial arrangements have been maintaincd fo r the most part, and original materials arc largely intact but mostly covered with new materials. Interior doors are in fairl y good condition and fea ture various arrangements of wood panels. Original interior transoms have also survived. in the characteristically sparse treatment of Afri can American schools, decorative features are vo id. Dlackboards remain throughout. Storage cabinets and storage/cloak rooms are retained A metal building housi ng various ac tivities was added 10 the rear of the bu ild ing in later years. When the present school opened in 1943, Hobso n City was a thrivi ng town whi ch had several stores, a ci ty hall and a population of around 1000 people. Today many of the stores and the original City Hall has been abandoned. The populat ion has decreased to below 1000 and the town is on the bri nk of bankruptcy. As the economy declined, some residents began to commute and move to the nearby ci lies of Anniston, Oxford, Lincoln, and Tall adega. Ci ty official s, school alumnus and communi ty groups are interested in helping to restore the bui ldi ng as a community educational facility. to generate interest in the history of the scbool and the community. They have organized an effon to prcserve the school for community use, as the building has long served the community for far more than just an cdllcational faci lity. A portion of thc school complex is bei ng maintained by the City of Hobson City fo r use as a City Hall and to house other city services. In 1905, Professor C. F, Hanna organized the first school, known as Hobson City and Oxford Academy. with about seventy pupi ls. For a school term of fi ve months, the one teacher was paid $25 per month, or $125 per year.