Auburn Faculty Lead Restoration of Historic Alabama School

In 2022, a team of Auburn University faculty members received nearly $500,000 from the National Park Service to restore the exterior of the Tankersley Rosenwald School in Hope Hull, Alabama. Now, after three years of thoughtful planning and careful construction, the rehabilitation of the exterior is complete.

“I am so thankful to see Auburn take the initiative to undertake this project,” said Thomas Boyd, president of the Tankersley community organization. “Our children and grandchildren need to know what we’ve been through.”

The Rosenwald Schools consist of nearly 400 structures built in Alabama between 1912-32 to serve as educational facilities for African American children. It is uncertain how many of those structures still exist, and some that are still standing have fallen into disrepair.

“The brilliant thing about Rosenwald Schools is that they were multipurpose and served as gathering spaces for the community,” said Elijah Gaddis, Hollifield Associate Professor of Southern History and co-director of Auburn’s Public History Program. “I hope that’s what the building can be again.”

Faculty members Gorham Bird, Junshan Liu, Hunter McGonagill and Richard Burt from the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (CADC) and Gaddis and Keith Hébert the College of Liberal Arts (CLA)—as well as Danielle Wilkens from the Georgia Institute of Technology—have pooled their knowledge of architecture, history, digital preservation and structural restoration to get the project done.

“The interdisciplinary team has formed organically over the course of the project in response to the particular needs of the building and the community around it,” said Gaddis. “Each of us has brought our own strengths in order to make it much better than it could have been.”

The Tankersley School was at risk of collapsing due to a structural failure until the Auburn team stepped in. The faculty utilized the National Park Service funds to stabilize the building, complete a Historic Structures Report and restore the exterior.

Bird, the Architecture Program Chair and associate professor, served as the architect and go-between for the team and the local workers who completed the restoration.

“A major part of this project has been partnering with local contractors and supporting them through the preservation,” he said. “Working with historic properties or on preservation projects is highly specialized work, and this is an excellent opportunity to equip local contractors during this careful work.”

“Our research team has worked closely to coordinate and oversee the rehabilitation to train and support the contractors while ensuring the quality of the preservation and ensure proper techniques have been utilized,” Bird continued.

Bird visited the site often with consulting engineers to discuss how to use historic materials and to address unforeseen structural issues like the dilapidated, unsound roof structure. The highlight of the rehabilitation is the full restoration of the original windows, an iconic architectural feature of Rosenwald Schools.

The interdisciplinary team of faculty currently has several projects underway to document and preserve history in the South. Auburn’s Creative Work and Social Impact Scholarship grant, CADC Seed grants and Tiger Giving Day donors, are supporting the team’s efforts to connect with communities across the state and share their findings. Support from a second National Park Service grant will allow the team to restore the interior of the Tankersley School so it can eventually be utilized as a community center.

“The Tankersley School has always been the beating heart of the community,” Gaddis said. “In its restored condition, it shows the value it continues to hold.”

Footnote: This project was funded with assistance from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior under Grant Number P22AP01992-00. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Interior.