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Farming For A Better Future, page 22

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Although the school was larger than most Rosenwald schools, it still had a very simple design and lacked a cafeteria or kitchen. Students relied on home cooked lunches provided by a group of local women. The Leighton Training School was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1997. Over the 68 years between construction and the state nomination, the school had grown from five to six classrooms and then into a complex of four buildings situated on 11 acres. Classrooms were added to the rear of the building in 1937. Two decades later, a gymnasium, a utility room, and restrooms were added. Also, about that time, the campus expanded to include an athletic field and stadium to the west. In 1961, six additional classrooms, a library, and a lunchroom were built to the south - completing the majority of the complex. According to the Alabama Register nomination form, the local African American children of Leighton were first taught lessons in the Galilee Baptist Church as early as 1892. Other locations known to have served the community include: “Ricks' Place (a house on the northwest side of town), the Clay Mound (later leveled for brick making), the Grove Church, and the Masonic Lodge (used for around 20 years).” (Left) Aerial Photograph of Leighton School in 1949 (Right) Aerial Photograph of Leighton School in 1963 (University of Alabama, Historical Map Collection, Online) * Indicates a Historical - Non-Extant Resource - (4550)    

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