The National Park Service issued a Notification of Award confirming that the Lincolnite Club, Inc. was the recipient of a $750,000.00 grant. Funding was provided through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Grant funds will be used to continue Phase III rehabilitation of the Historic Lincoln Normal School Gymnasium. The Lincolnite Club will provide $75,000 in matching funds. Rehabilitation of the Gymnasium is being done in five phases due to the magnitude and scope of the project. The overall project cost for Phase I through Phase V is estimated to be $3,300,000.
Phase III repairs include steel structural members, repoint and clean brick, repair the concrete floor, improve drainage, repair exterior doors and prepare the building for Phase IV Building Systems replacement. Thomas Miree, a Trustee of the Lincolnite Club said, “this grant is a major step toward repurposing the Gymnasium as a Multi-Purpose Community Center, highlighting the history and struggle to achieve voting and civil rights in the City of Marion, Perry County Alabama.”
The Lincoln High School Gymnasium was built as an “Equalization” facility to slow desegregation of schools in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the 1954 case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that mandated desegregation of schools. During the modern civil rights struggle, Lincoln Normal School students played a vital and significant role demonstrating, marching, and attending mass meetings to gain voting rights for African Americans. 1970 Lincoln School closed and most of its buildings were deliberately demolished, following the civil rights struggle for school desegregation and voting rights. Fortunately, the Gymnasium was not demolished.
The history of Lincoln School began in 1867 when nine formerly enslaved men and the local black community established the school to educate black children. After one hundred and three years, its doors closed, but its place in history lives. The legacy lives in its graduates, their descendants, and the community of Perry County and nationwide. Some Lincoln School alumni and members of the Lincolnite Club refer to the campus as “holy ground.”
The rehabilitated facility will be accessible for community- wide activities including Lincolnite, family, and class reunions, shelter during inclement weather, youth educational enrichment, senior citizens activities, community sponsored social activities, performing arts classes, health fairs, seminars, career training programs, youth summer camps and research for documenting civil rights struggles. The entire Lincoln Normal School Campus, including the Gymnasium, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 2022. The rehabilitated gymnasium will be positioned to tell the story and historic significance of Lincoln Normal School and serve as a much-needed multi-purpose community center for the surrounding community.
Community leaders, Friends and Supporters of the Historic Lincoln School throughout the country and the local community have expressed appreciation for the preservation grant award to fund Phase III rehabilitation of the gymnasium as a multi-purpose community center.
The following supporters shared their views and opinions about the benefits of the grant project:
Mayor Dexter Hinton, City of Marion; ” The Lincoln School is part of why I am where I am today. Growing up, my aunts and uncles taught me how the Lincoln School impacted their lives and how many highly educated blacks started their education journey and careers at Lincoln. Knowing that the school developed prominent leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries, why not preserve this hallow ground? If history is not remembered, it will be forgotten, and the people who were inspired will not be. The carried torch will go out, and the race will start over. That means so much progress, sacrifice, and history will be forgotten. I am elated to do my part in making sure Lincoln is remembered. Lincoln’s story will always have a seed for growth when people enter the campus to use this gym or any other facility.”
Albert Turner Jr., Perry County Commissioner; “The renovations of the Lincoln School gymnasium will benefit the Perry County Community in several ways. The Community could have a stateof- the-art state facility to use as a voting precinct and host other government affairs activities. This would be a welcoming addition to the County.”
Marsha Ford; Sowing Seeds of Hope, Operational Manager; “We are excited to see that Lincoln School’s legacy of education continues to be a beacon of light and provides a vision of growth for our county. The revitalization of the gym at Lincoln opens new pathways for sharing our story from the civil rights era and for shaping a bright future for our youth through enrichment, social activities, and community development. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have made this opportunity possible for our community.”
Bessie Kelly, Zion Church Clerk, Marion, Alabama; “Visitors come to see the historic grounds of Lincoln School and receive knowledge about the school’s history. Learning about the roles that students played in the Civil Rights Movement and reconnecting with our history will give people pride. Rehabilitation of the Gym and revitalization of the Campus will help the Lincolnite Club, Inc. to preserve its history in a way that will honor past generations and educate present and future generations. The entire school has given the community something to hold near and dear to their hearts. It has shown the community from whence we have come and where we are headed. It has sparked young minds to pursue more in their own lives, while reigniting the minds of others to remember their past and honor the impact that Lincoln School had on their lives.”
Stakeholders, Lincolnites and the community at large all look forward to the day when the gymnasium will be completely rehabilitated as a multi-purpose community center serving the city of Marion and the surrounding community. The facility will also increase community interaction and tourism, improve the physical image of the campus and community, as well as enhance the preservation, maintenance, utilization, and accessibility to the Lincoln Normal School Campus National Historic Districts.
