Public History and the Arts

Stories from a Rosenwald School in Mars Hill

The artwork of children once graced the walls of the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School. This two-room school provided a close-knit learning community for Black students in grades 1-8 from 1930 -1965. Alumni speak of the passion for learning, reading, and the arts they gained, even with unequal resources like frayed, secondhand textbooks.

An image collage showing the Rosenwald school and two girls working on their quilt squares

PAGE was honored in 2021 to offer the first educational programming for youth in the Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School (MHARS) since it closed in 1965. PAGE students’ creative work with hands helped them connect with historical content: old photos, recorded interviews with alumni and historians, documentary films, books and poetry about Rosenwald schools, even a special visit from Smithsonian oral historian Kelly Navies.

A quilting project, led by Teaching Artist Jenny Pickens, became a lens for helping girls honor the stories of the school’s alumni and former teachers.

This new humanities PageLab connecting history and the arts took place inside the historic two-room schoolhouse.

PAGE students and our teaching team gathered inside the schoolhouse each morning to quilt as a way of studying history. The beautiful windows that frame one entire side of the schoolhouse will display quilting squares that tell an important part of Appalachia’s story.

We are pleased to share a digital exhibit from this place-based humanities Lab:

16 Quilt Squares created by PAGE girlsElyse Demas - Quilt Square - The white schoolhouse, blue mountains, and green grassesA quilt square depicting a pile of scraps with text in the upper left that says "We always got the cast off books". Text at the top says "Inspired by Charity Roy"A quilt square with grass, blue sky, a building, and a doorwayA quilt square with a banner at the top reading "Springtime is here". Two African American figures are dressed in colorful blue robes. They wear crowns. Bare trees are to the left and right of them. The ground is brown.A quilt square with two halves. One side has an African American man behind bars in an orange jumpsuit. The other shows him cuffed, but outdoors with green grass, blue skies, and birds behind him.A quilt square depicting a classroom. There are 9 African American students sitting at desks and a teacher in the front. Three large windows can be seen.A quilt square depicting a large tree and an apple. Written on it is the quote "The mind is a terrible thing to waste." Below is written "In honor of alumni Eugene Jones".A quilt square with four charms - a flower, a bird, a cross, and a rectangle with starsA quilt square depicting 5 African American children sitting at desks in front of a blackboard. A small wood stove is seen to the side.A quilt square depicting an African American girl in a red floral dress. She's in a classroom, next to a desk and chair.A quilt square depicting an African American teacher, Mrs. OwensA quilt square depicting an African American girl and a school bus in front of a mountain sceneA quilt square depicting a large flower growing in a potA teacher, Mrs. Wilson, stands at the front with a chalkboard. A quilt square depicting a classroom with African American children at desks. Written in the upper left is the quote "To be free, education is key"
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