James Forten School

James Forten School (1822–?), originally known as Mary Steet School then Lombard Street Colored School and later Bird School or Mr. Bird's School, was the first public school for African Americans in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History

It opened on Mary Steet in 1823 after being organized and approved in 1822. It had one teacher for 199 students. Attendance was irregular and it had only one teacher. Philadelphia's "colored" schools had only white teachers up until the Civil War era.[1]

In 1828 it was moved to the Lombard Street school building and white students who had been there were relocated to a new school.[2] James M. Bird served as principal[3][4] and the school became known as Bird School or Bird's School. James Forten and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society helped keep it open after enrollment dropped upon Brid's transfer elsewhere in the school system. He was brought back.[5]

By 1854 Maria C. Hutton was serving as principal of the girls school.[6]

The school was eventually renamed for prominent African American businessman, abolitionist, and civil rights activist James Forten. It was located at Sixth Street and Lombard Street.[7] Attendance declined after Bird's departure and the school struggled.[8]

In 1869 it was rebuilt and in 1897 the school was renovated and reopened as the James Forten Elementary Manual Training School.[9] Manual training was taught at the school which saw increasing enrollment by immigrants.[10][11] Many of the immigrants were Russian Jews.[12][13]

Alumni
  • Alumni include James Mara Adger and Joseph E Lee.

See also

References
  1. Lane, Roger (August 15, 1991). William Dorsey's Philadelphia and Ours: On the Past and Future of the Black City in America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-536221-3 – via Google Books.
  2. https://www.https Archived 2013-08-19 at the Wayback Machine://journals.psu.edu/pmhb/article/download/42993/42714 Archived 2015-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "American Publishers' Circular and Literary Gazette". Book Publishers' Association. December 12, 1858 – via Google Books.
  4. Sanders, Charles Walton (December 12, 1848). "The School Reader, Third Book". W.H. Moore – via Google Books.
  5. Winch, Julie (June 5, 2003). A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534745-6 – via Google Books.
  6. Education, Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery Board of (December 12, 1856). "Statistics of the Colored People of Philadelphia". T. E. Chapman – via Google Books.
  7. Edmunds, Franklin Davenport (December 12, 1913). "The Public School Buildings of the City of Philadelphia ..." F.D. Edmunds – via Google Books.
  8. "Library Exhibits :: Map". exhibits.library.villanova.edu.
  9. "Empty Lot of the Week -- James Forten School NIMBY Lot". mycitypaper.com.
  10. Sinclair, Bruce (December 12, 2004). Technology and the African-American Experience: Needs and Opportunities for Study. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262195041 – via Google Books.
  11. Education, School District of Philadelphia, Pa Board of Public (December 12, 1896). "Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Schools of the City of Philadelphia". Burk & McFetridge, Printers – via Google Books.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. Davis, Allen F.; Haller, Mark H. (October 29, 1998). The Peoples of Philadelphia: A History of Ethnic Groups and Lower-Class Life, 1790-1940. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812216709 – via Google Books.
  13. Weigley, Russell Frank; Wainwright, Nicholas B.; Wolf, Edwin (December 12, 1982). Philadelphia: A 300 Year History. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393016109 – via Google Books.

39.9432°N 75.1523°W / 39.9432; -75.1523

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