Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Beloit Connection

Shall we gather at the Beloit Community Center for a history lesson about the first Christian school for African Americans in Dallas County?

It was here...formerly founded as the Beloit Industrial Institute in 1888. A Presbyterian missionary from Wisconsin established the school and founded Beloit, named for his alma mater, Beloit College, in his home state.

The historic marker in front of this building states that "from 1888 to 1923, the Beloit school functioned as the intellectual, social and religious hub for the thriving Beloit community. The school was the first in Dallas County to combine agribusiness training with strong Christian teachings. In 1923, the Dallas County School Board gained legal possession of the school which they retained until 1963 when desegregation and zoning forced the closing of the school's doors. For a period of ten years, the school building was owned by a private business. In 1974 the building was purchased by the Beloit Community Organization. It now functions as a multi-purpose, community center and exists as a shining example of progress, self-reliance and community service for generations of past, present and future Alabamians. (Erected 1994 by the Beloit Community Organization) Location: Dallas County Beloit Community."

Today, there is still a relationship between the northern Beloit and the southern Beloit.
Ten years ago, The Beloit Daily News reported that "A delegation of Beloiters will take a 13-hour drive to a Beloit sister city, Beloit, Alabama; Wayne Showers will lead the excursion; he's invited the Alabama city twice and has been to some other cities named Beloit."

4 comments:

magiceye said...

very impressive structure backed by imposing history indeed!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your visit to my blog Brookville Daily Photo this morning. I hope you enjoyed my post today showing the baby rabbit eating the hibiscus flower.

I am now taking a diminishing dose of steroids for my Rheumatoid Arthritis pain and it works. I am pain free. I believe the chemotherapy drug is spelled "Methotrexate" that is used to treat a lot of things from cancer to arthritis and it has side effects that are troubling. So I need to talk to my doctor about it before I take it. Just missing a dose can be a real nightmare.

Anyway, I wanted you to know I stopped-in to repay your visit and comment with mine.

I enjoyed reading your blog post for today about the Beloit Connection and I thought your photography was excellent.

I don't know if you like to read or not but if you do this place is amazing.

I just got my first shipment of used books from Strand's bookstore in New York City, yesterday. They have 18 miles of used books. Think about that. Anyway, they got here and I am totally happy with those I chose to read. I had to start out by just choosing a category, like photography, and go from there. I don't know how in the world they can keep track of so many books.

Look up Strand bookstore or copy and paste the URL here: http://www.strandbooks.com/app/www/p/home/

Virginia said...

Thanks goodness someone had the good sense to preserve this lovely old building with such rich history, instead of tearing it down to make way for a strip mall!

Troop 1309 said...

What a beautiful building! I love reading the historical backgrounds on your blog!