Places in Peril: Neosho Colored School, Seymour Grade School considered endangered sites

Two southwest Missouri landmarks were deemed endangered historic sites last month by the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation.

The 1872 Neosho Colored School and Seymour Grade School were nominated by their communities to be included in this year's list of Places in Peril.

Since 2000, the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation has published an annual Places in Peril list, which aims to call attention to endangered historic sites throughout the state. These sites may be threatened by deterioration, lack of maintenance, insufficient funding, imminent demolition or inappropriate development, according to the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation. Each year's list is compiled from nominations collected throughout the state.

1872 Neosho Colored School

During the fall of 1872, the Neosho School Board purchased a two-room, 380-square-foot wooden structure in town to use as a school for Black students. It became known as the Neosho Colored School.

On average, the school served about 20 to 60 students, according to Lana Henry, Carver Birthplace Association president, including scientist and inventor George Washington Carver.

Carver was born around 1865 on a small farm that belonged to Moses Carver in southwest Missouri. George's mother, Mary, was only 13-years-old when she was purchased by Moses, deemed by him as his "slave for life," Henry explained.

Growing up, George was denied education at the nearby white school, but in 1876, he walked the 10 miles to the Neosho Colored School where he was welcomed with open arms. He excelled in school, Henry said, and later moved to Kansas to pursue better schools.

"His search for education and basic civil rights took place during sweeping national civil rights changes," Henry said. "Immersed in decades of setbacks, restrictive state laws and escalating incidents of racial violence, he doggedly pursued an education."

In 1894, George was the first Black graduate from Iowa State University and he went on to have a successful 47-year career at Tuskegee University in Alabama. While teaching, George also spoke at Black colleges and fairs. And in 1920, he gave his first presentation at a white college.

While George may often be considered the most notable student who attended the Neosho Colored School, there are countless stories of those with equally important stories.

One of these stories is of Hewlett Hayden, a young man who attended the school in 1880. At about 21 years old, Hayden was arrested for shooting a man near Monett, Henry said. While being transported by train to a jail in Cass County, a mob overpowered the men guarding Hayden. He was lynched from a telephone pole by the train tracks.

The schoolhouse remained in use until 1891, when a new Lincoln School was opened for Black students.

In 2004, the building was donated to the Carver Birthplace Association and over the past nearly two decades, a tremendous amount of effort has been put into preserving the building, including structural stabilization and exterior restoration, according to the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation.

Earlier this year, the Carver Birthplace Association received a $70,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. This funding will help complete necessary steps of the preservation process, specifically preventing the loss of any further original historic materials and renovating the building's interior. This funding must be used by 2025.

Henry said the Carver Birthplace Association's long-term goal is to turn the schoolhouse into a museum, where visitors can learn about slavery in Missouri and post-Civil War race relationships.

Those interested in supporting the 1872 Neosho Colored School could contact the Carver Birthplace Association at carverbirthplace@gmail.com or 417-325-4151. Donations can be mailed to the Carver Birthplace Association at 5646 Carver Road Diamond, MO 64840.

Seymour Grade School

Constructed from sandstone quarried in the area, the Seymour Grade School served all children in Seymour from 1940 to 1958. Later, it served as the junior high school and early childhood center.

Today, the schoolhouse remains vacant, as the Seymour R-II School District is unable to maintain it.

"Like many old school buildings in Missouri, the building is structurally sound but functionally obsolete and obsolescence threatens its continued existence," the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation website states.

Despite its structural integrity, the schoolhouse does require restoration. Water damage from a bad roof has led to mold in the basement and in 2019, vandals broke inside and damaged some of the structure, according to the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation.

In 2020, the Seymour Area Arts Council attempted to purchase the schoolhouse but the sale fell through. Most recently, the community tried to create a partnership that would allow the building to be used by all members of the public as an education and training center, but this plan also did not work.

Community members who nominated the Seymour Grade School hope its listing as a Place in Peril will aid in support for preserving the historic resource.

The other sites on this year's list are the Potosi Presbyterian Church, Mt. Zion Church in Akers, Equitable Building in Sedalia, Sk8 Liborius in St. Louis and Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church in Parkville. To learn more about these sites, visit the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation website.

Over the last 23 years, numerous landmarks in Springfield have been listed as a Place in Peril, including the Washington Avenue Baptist Church in 2000, Midtown National Register Historic District in 2001, The Ozark Community Building in 2013 and Jefferson Avenue Foot Bridge in 2017.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 2 southwest Missouri historic schools classified as endangered sites