Friends of School Hill oral histories and images

Summary

Creator: University of Delaware
Date(s): May 2017
Call Number: MSS 0784
Language: Materials entirely in English.
Abstract: Oral histories and images collected at the event, "Preserving the Past: Gathering History & Mementos of the New London Road / School Hill Community," Saturday, May 20, 2017. Established in 1867 as the first documented public school for African-American youth in the Newark community, the school and its surrounding property were also an important social and recreational meeting place for neighborhood residents.
Physical Description:
  • 0.3s (1 box)
  • 43.34 gigabytes
  • Digital files created in TIFF, JPG, PDF, and MP4 formats.
Immediate Source of Acquisition: Produced by University of Delaware Library. Transfers from George Wilson Center, May 2017.
Processing Information: Processed by Molly Olney-Zide, July 2017. Finding aid encoded by Jaime Margalotti, August 2017. Updated by Jaime Margalotti, January 2022. Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Alternative Format: Access to digital versions of the videos and images is available in the University of Delaware Institutional Repository.

Biographical and Historical Notes

The first documented public school for African-American youth in the Newark community was established in 1867 by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. This was one of several schools established in Delaware during the post-Civil War "reconstruction" period through this federal government program, which was designed to assist African-Americans in states where slavery was legal before the Civil War.

In 1922 a new school housing grades 1-8 was built here on land purchased from John Nields. There were four classrooms on the first floor and a lunchroom in the basement. Funding for construction was provided by P. S. duPont and the Delaware School Auxiliary Association. The building functioned as a school until integration took place in 1958.

The school and surrounding property, also known as "School Hill", was an important meeting place for neighborhood residents for social and recreational gatherings as well. In 1961, the City of Newark purchased the building and grounds. Significant renovations took place and the New London Community Center opened in 1970. In 1977, the building was renamed in honor of George M. Wilson, a leader in improving housing conditions for members of Newark's African-American community and former member of Newark's City Council.

Sources

Historical information derived from the collection.

Content Description

Oral histories and images collected at the event, "Preserving the Past: Gathering History & Mementos of the New London Road / School Hill Community," Saturday, May 20, 2017. The event was sponsored by the Friends of School Hill, NAACP of Delaware, and the University of Delaware.

The collection comprises two series, I. Administrative materials and II. Audiovisual materials and images.

Additional documentation, including the event sign-in sheet, completed release forms, and release and metadata forms for scanned images are maintained in the collection folder housed in Special Collections.

Using these materials

Shelving Summary

Box 1: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (1 inch)

Access Information

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

MSS 0784, Friends of School Hill oral histories and images, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec

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