Tough Times for Lincoln School

Sometime after the normal school relocated to Montgomery in 1887, the AMA bought and/or inherited property in Marion that may have been owned by the state school. That included the Patterson House, "an old plantation house in the middle of a cornfield...." Remember now, that the modern building that rivaled schools of the North and cost $4,200 to construct, was burned down some ten years before. In effect, Lincoln School started over again. In its possession now was a little one room building next to the Congregational Church, the Forest Home, and 5 acres of land. The AMA set about reorganizing Lincoln School.

Records available to us do not indicate who guided Lincoln School from 1887 to 1896. What we do know is that a bright young woman named Mary Elizabeth Phillips came in the fall of 1896 to assume the mantle of leadership. She was enthusiastic and dedicated, and had been a teacher at Talladega College - another AMA school.

By her fourth year as principal of Lincoln, in spite of her efforts, the AMA felt that it had to "retrench its work." The school went from zenith to nadir in ten years. A year later in 1897, the AMA considered giving up Lincoln School altogether. It had the poorest facilities of all AMA schools, and required much work. During this period, an old barn was made into class-space for about 150 children. The school continued to use this space for nine years.

There was almost no plant; there were no desks, and few blackboards and books. Yet the students came. In the old dwelling that would have been crowded with half as many. That the school did not die resulted from the leadership of Mary E. Phillips, and the determination of Marion parents and students.

A large community meeting was called at the Congregational Church in 1897 after the sad announcement from the AMA. Miss Phillips told the people that the AMA desired to close Lincoln School. Local people were aghast, and insisted that the school remain open. There were only extremely limited educational opportunities for Blacks in the whole county. The school did not close.

There were several reasons why Lincoln did not shut down. Local people pledged to raise $1,300; children would raise $100; teachers would go a full year without salary ($20 to $40 a month), and parents pledged to keep the teachers from going hungry by supplying meat, eggs, milk, flour and vegetables. In the face of that kind of determination, the AMA said they would allow the school to remain open. All commitments were kept.

According to Johnson, "From time to time the school took on a new life and plans were made for the creation of a large classroom building." Miss Phillips was just the person to make the plans become realities.

About 1897, the AMA bought additional land from Amzi Childs to make the central rectangular campus complete as all alumni and faculty will remember it.

Five years later, in 1902, after many fund drives, Livingston Hall was ready for classes - the centerpiece recitation hall. The AMA had matched $1,000 raised by teachers, the community and students. With so many children thirsting for education, soon it was determined that a second class room building should be erected.

Fund-raising for a new class-room building began in 1909 with a gift of $1,000 from one Mr. Van Wagenen. Ms. Phillips added another $500 from her personal funds. Money was also raised by community people.

An interesting and unforgettable thing happened during the construction of Van Wagenen Hall. Miss Phillips discovered, to her dismay, that she was unable to pay the wages demanded by the bricklayers. A woman undaunted and courageous, she found a bricklayer who was willing to teach her how to lay bricks! From that point on, Miss Phillips and boys from Lincoln School under supervision of a black mason finished the job. Ten years after its completion, two new class rooms were added to Van Wagenen.

Many Lincolnites will recall how one or more layers of bricks on one side of Van Wagenen ran off course. That defect became a lasting reminder of Miss Phillips grit and determination for the next sixty years.

She described in a written report to the AMA how the first dormitories came into being:

One of the unique features of our school work is our new self-supporting boarding department. When we moved into the building we decided, at the earnest request of some parents, to use the old buildings as homes for the boys and girls who live at a distance. Our boys whitened the walls, made washstands and tables out of drygoods boxes, and soon the rooms began, even with this [c]rude home-made furniture, to have a home-like appearance. The girls brought their own beds, and with chairs purchased from the white military school and repaired, the rooms were furnished. These shelter about sixty girls. An old shop that was considered past useful was turned into a boys' dormitory, they themselves building the chimneys, lining the walls and putting on a new roof. Their wash-tubs and bathtubs were made out of old molasses barrels, and the dining room tables were made from discarded blackboards. The girls' laundry is carried on under the open sky in the yard, with homemade washboards and tubs; a disused lightning rod wire does service as clothes-line, and the irons are heated on a very ancient charcoal stove. The pupils bring their food, and each has his own box in the storeroom, and gets his own part-clear property. Last year there were sixty-one of these borders; this year ninety-one, with forty who board outside in families.