Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School
| Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Coordinates | 40°01′34″N 75°44′42″W / 40.026°N 75.745°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private Black |
| Motto | "self help through self work" |
| Established | 1905 |
| Founders | John Sheppard Trower, William Abraham Creditt |
| Closed | 1993 |
The Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School (DIAS) was a private school for African American students active from 1905 until 1993, and located in Downingtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S.[3][4] Its motto was "self help through self work".[5] It was located in what is now East Brandywine Township.[6][7]
History
[edit]The school was founded by John S. Trower and William Abraham Creditt. Both were well-known, successful African Americans from Philadelphia. Tower was a local businessman, and Creditt was pastor of the city's first African Baptist church.[3][4]
The school's purpose was to provide vocational training;[8] and was aimed at educating African-American youth that struggled with schooling.[9] By 1907, an illustrated report on the school was published showings the school's chapel, barn, dining room, and sewing room.[1][10] The school was included in Philadelphia's colored directory in 1910.[11] In July 1912 the school announced that it would be sending fifteen graduates to Lincoln University that fall.[5]
Creditt served as the school's president for many years.[5][12] James N. H. Waring Jr. (1890–1973), the son of a prominent physician, served as the school's principal in the 1930s.[13] Mortelia Womack, who worked as a secretary for W. E. B. Du Bois, applied for a job in the school in 1931 and Du Bois sent the school's principal, J. H. N. Waring, Jr., a reference for her.[14]
Howard D. Queen, a US Army colonel and commander of the 366th Infantry Regiment during World War II, served in the mathematics department after his military career.
In 1980, a thirty-six-page publication authored by Clay Griffin about the school was published.[15]
- Founders of Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School
-
William Abraham Creditt (c. 1913) -
John Sheppard Trower (c. 1911)
Legacy
[edit]Delaware County Community College's Downingtown campus is on the site of the former school.[16]
Notable alumni include Cab Calloway, famous for, among other things, "Minnie the Moocher, or The Hi-De-Ho song."
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Parks, W. G. et al. (c. 1907). Statement of Scope, Condition, Purposes and Needs of Downingtown Industrial School, 1907–1908. Philadelphia: Press of Banner Publishing Company for Downingtown Industrial School. Courtesy of Ian Brabner, Rareamerica.com. OCLC 1105217145
- ^ "Downington Industrial and Agricultural School [advertisement]". The Philadelphia Colored Directory, 1910.
- ^ a b "Background Note". Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School Collection, Temple University Libraries.
- ^ a b Burkholder, Zoë (2021). An African American Dilemma: A History of School Integration and Civil Rights in the North. Oxford University Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-19-060513-1.
- ^ a b c "The Dowington Industrial School". New Pittsburgh Courier. July 5, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Downingtown Campus". Delaware County Community College. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
Downingtown Campus 100 Bond Drive Downingtown, PA 19335[...]built on the site of the former Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School,[...]
- ^ "Street Map". East Brandywine Township. January 2010. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- ^ Blockson, Charles L. (1994). African Americans in Pennsylvania: A History and Guide. Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press, 41.
- ^ Griffin, Clay (1980). Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School. Downingtown, PA: Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School. OCLC 992080215.
- ^ "Statement of Scope, Condition, Purposes and Needs of Downingtown Industrial School, 1907-1908 by W G. Parks on Ian Brabner, Rare Americana, LLC ABAA". Ian Brabner, Rare Americana, LLC (ABAA).
- ^ "ExplorePAHistory.com - Image". explorepahistory.com.
- ^ "New Principal Is Named For 'Aggie' School". Brandywine Archive. 1965-06-24. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Search results: Name:"Waring,%20James%20H.%20N.,%201890-1973"".
- ^ "Letter from the Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School to W. E. B. Du Bois, September 3, 1931". University of Massachusetts Amherst.
- ^ Griffin, Clay (September 22, 1980). "Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School". Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School – via Google Books.
- ^ "Downingtown Campus". Delaware County Community College.
Further reading
[edit]- "Letter from the Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School to W. E. B. Du Bois, September 3, 1931". University of Massachusetts Amherst.