African American Schools in Todd County, KY
At least two colored schools were established in Todd County, KY, by the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands between 1866 and 1870 [see NKAA entry Freedmen Schools]. One school was located in Hadensville, and another in Trenton. In 1880, there were several more schools and the teachers were Henry Beid at Kirkmansville; Filmore Gaugh, Euclide Loving, and Jarusha Russell at Elkton; and Ben Mansfield and Wilson Hunter at Trenton [source: U.S. Federal Census]. In 1920, Nannie Samuel was the school teacher at the Fairview School [source: U.S. Federal Census]. Blanch T. Dickinson taught in Todd County during the 1924 and 1925 school terms; her husband Verdell Dickinson was from Todd County. There were 17 colored elementary schools in Todd County in 1925, each with one teacher, and there was one high school [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1925-1926, p.83]. There were 21 teachers at the 17 elementary schools during the 1926-27 school term [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1926-1927, p.82]. The Class-3 colored high school was located in Elkton, and J. W. Waddle was the principal during the 1927-28 term, the high school had 2 teachers and 11 students [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1926-1927, p.57]. The Elkton School held both the elementary and high school. J. W. Waddle had been with the Elkton School as early as 1916, along with J. S. Henderson, Robert M. Small, Emma Stoner, and Rhoda Hall; and T. Henderson and P. T. Frazer were in Allensville [source: Proceedings of the Kentucky Negro Educational Association, April 25-28, 1916, pp.28, 29, 30, 35, 36, & 37]. In 1940, there were 15 Negro teachers in Todd County, KY according to the U.S. Federal Census: Bonnie H. Bell, Leon Bell, Ora Ferguson, James P. Griffin, Hattie L. Griffin, Rhoda Hall, Manice Gladdiak, Iola Marrow, Mazella Marshall, Bertha Mae Morehead, Inez Russell, Robert Small, Daveny F. Smith, Larizza Terry, and Massey Ward. The first school to be listed as integrated was the Todd County Central High School, on p.143 in the Kentucky School Directory, 1963-64.
- Hadensville Freedmen School
- Trenton Freedmen School
- Colored Schools (17)
- Kirkmansville School
- Elkton School
- Fairview School
- Guthrie School
- Allensville School
- Mt. Pisgah School [Alice Dunnigan taught at the school]
- Todd County Training School [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1955-56, p.229]
- Trenton Rosenwald School [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1961-62, p.891]