As long as I can remember traveling up Al 21 going north, I have seen a sign that says Snow Hill Institute. I have learned over the years that this was indeed a very famous school.
Until I started doing my focus totally on the Black Belt, I did not know that much about it other than it was an old school for Black Children.
I was born in 1957 and remember the goings on of the Civil rights Movement of the early 1960’s although I was a small child. I know that in the early 1970’s the laws concerning segregation caused many schools that had been for black children to close and students both black and white were bused to other schools to satisfy that all were desegregated. Because of that fact many small country, and even some larger town or city, schools closed and bigger ones were built or added on to.
I saw Snow Hill Institute on a Historical list of Black Belt things and immediately it hit me. I know “about” where this is. I have never actually driven through and seen where it stands nor what it looks like. Like always I had to do some research.
Naturally one of the first places I went to learn was the internet. As with more times than not the first thing I found on it was at encyclopediaofalabama .org. Here is what they have to say about it. (1) “The Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute was an African American school founded in the Snow Hill community of Wilcox County in 1893 by Tuskegee Institute graduate William J. Edwards. It operated as a private academy until in 1924 and the boasted 27 buildings, 35 employees, and some 400 students at its height. The building then served as an Alabama public school until 1973, when court-ordered desegregation forced its closure. Of the original campus, eight buildings survive. The site, which includes the burial plot of William Edwards, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.”
Like so many of the historical sites we have there is multitudes of information online with a simple search of their name. Snow Hill Institute is no exception.
Because of that fact I rarely add much more because of the ease of research through search engines it is easier to just make that reference instead of trying to compile it and then make sure everybody is cited as they should be for their hard work.
As I stated earlier, I had known about Snow Hill somewhat. I did not however know exactly where it stood other than the sign on Hwy 21 pointing in to it.
My wife and I were out rambling on this particular day, and I saw the sign. My wife had asked me about it earlier on another trip recently and I had told her what I knew, and we did not take time to go in to find it. Today we had time and here we went.
I turned from Hwy 21 and headed up towards the school. I was not sure what I was even Hunting. We came to the brick sign at what we learned was the entrance. Then we headed up the narrow-paved road into the school. That is when I saw it.
My first glance was shock. I was actually disturbed. I saw what had been these beautiful brick buildings that were now going away fast. It was obvious that there had been roof damage at some time in the past probably from a storm of some kind. There were remnants of blue tarps on the roof.
The roofs were falling in in places. It was a sad time for me. I do not know what I was actually hoping to see but in my expectations something as important to history of Alabama as this I felt would be, and rightfully should be preserved. Instead, they were falling in and fast going away.
We drove up the road and I stopped several different times and took photos documenting best I could and then we would move a little further in and I would do the same. We moved on up to the top of the hill and then turned around and came back out. For me it was a solemn time. Any time I see things of great historical significance in trouble it does something to me. I want to see them all preserved.
As always when I left my mind went to racing. I could imagine what it was like for all of those young people at that time in history. I could imagine what the classes were like. I could imagine that there were things like vegetable gardens there. I could imagine what great people came from this place and the accomplishments they were able to achieve because of the education they received here.
Hopefully in the not-too-distant future something can be done to this great historical place and it can be preserved. Like so many others of great significance it is slowly decaying and going away so that a future generation will not be able to see what it was like and know the great things that were accomplished here.
( 1 ) https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/media/snow-hill-normal-and-industrial-institute/