Lowndesboro School named Alabama historic landmark

LOWNDESBORO, Ala. (WSFA) – A school for Black children built in the Reconstruction era is now a historic landmark in Alabama.

The Lowndesboro School unveiled its historical marker in a special ceremony with alumni and the community on Saturday.

The school was founded in 1867 by Dr. Mansfield Tyler and Daniel Alexander, both were formally enslaved.

It served as a place for education and worship for Black people in the Lowndesboro community.

“Everything that we didn’t have as a school, they brought to us in some manner,” alumna Josephine McCall recalled her experience. “We were able to expound on what they brought to us and take it to the outside.”

McCall calls the building a symbol of perseverance, hoping that future generations are inspired when they learn the history.

“I want them to take away the understanding that if they try and persevere, they can achieve many goals that they can look at this building to say, if people came from here and succeeded, I can too,” McCall said.

The school will have a museum containing artifacts from the time the school was operating, and eventually, it will become technology center to help expand broadband access in Lowndes County.

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