From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

African American Schools in Pendleton County, KY

The first colored school in Pendleton County, KY, was probably the American Missionary Association School supported by the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands between 1866 and 1870 [see NKAA entry Freedmen Schools]. The first school mentioned in the thesis of Elbert Wallace Richmond, A history of Education in Pendleton County, Kentucky, pp.48-49, was established in 1878 in Falmouth. The teachers in Falmouth were George Black and Polly Southgate, according to the U.S. Federal Census. By 1885, there were two other schools, one in Levengood and one in Clays Run.

The first colored school report for the three districts in Pendleton County was filed in 1888. The school terms were three months, and the average monthly salary of the three teachers was $25. By 1900, two of the schools had closed, leaving only the Falmouth school [source: Richmond, p.71]. The county school board provided transportation for the children in the county to attend the school in Falmouth. A new school house was constructed in 1907 [source: "Pendleton County" on p.161 in Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Kentucky for the Two Years Beginning July 1, 1905 and Ending June 30, 1907]. In 1916, the teachers were Grace Ayers and Imogene Ayers [source: "Membership Kentucky Negro Educational Association 1916," Proceedings of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association, April 25-28, 1916, p.24].

In 1932, the teacher was Mrs. Bertha Chambers [source: Richmond, p.71]. The average salary was $80 per month and the average attendance was 33 students with a school term of seven months. There was not a colored high school in Pendleton County, KY. The Negro teachers in Pendleton County in 1940 were Amanda Hinton and Anna L. Hinton [source: U.S. Federal Census]. In 1955, the Falmouth Colored School had closed, the building was sold, and the students were bused to the colored school in Harrison County [source: "Pendleton County Public Schools" on p.708 in The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky]. The Falmouth Colored School had closed in 1952, according to the Kentucky Public School Directory, 1951-52, p.709.

The St. Frances Xavier School was the first listed as having "white and colored" students, on p.226 in the Kentucky Public School Directory, 1955-56. The first school to be listed as integrated was Morgan, on p.444 in the Kentucky Public School Directory, 1956-57.

  • Falmouth School
  • Levengood School
  • Clays Run School

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Pendleton County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Falmouth, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Levengood, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Clays Run, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Item Relations

Cite This NKAA Entry:

“African American Schools in Pendleton County, KY,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed March 19, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2800.

Last modified: 2017-10-24 21:08:14