The Cleveland County Training School #2, N.C. was damaged by a fire September 15. The building was a historic Rosenwald School and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s owned by Christ Temple Apostolic Family Worship Center Inc and was being used to store the church’s clothing closet and food pantry for the homeless, both of which perished during the fire. The damage was too extensive to determine the cause of the fire.
Ted Alexander, of Preservation North Carolina said, “It was the last Rosenwald related school in Cleveland County.” More than 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were established by Julius Rosenwald and were built across 15 southern states during the early 20th century and primarily used for the education of African-American children. “Those are nationally important so it’s sad that it burned.” Elder Mark McDowell, a Christ Temple board member says that despite the damage, they would still like the building redeveloped and renovated so its history can be preserved and be open to the community.