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Farming For A Better Future, page 139
(Left) Burrell Normal School, Class of 1917 (Omeka at Auburn) (Below) Burrell Slater High School, 1959 (Florence African American Heritage Project via Facebook.com)
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Coffee School (Rosenwald)*
The Coffee Rosenwald School was built in Lauderdale County in the early 20th century under the direction of the Tuskegee Institute. It was located about three miles west of Florence between Gunwaleford and Waterloo roads, along County Road 23. It most likely dates to the mid-1910s, when other Tuskegee Institute schools were built; however, it does not appear on a 1916 topographic map. It does appear on the 1936 USGS topographic map as “Coffee Rosenwald School” in an isolated area west of Florence. It is also indicated on the 1940 census map as a symbol with no label. By 1957, there is no symbol for a school, but there is a building in the same location, possibly the former schoolhouse. There are two houses in the approximate location of the Coffee Rosenwald School. One of them may be the school converted into a residence, which was not uncommon for well-built schools in rural areas.
(Below) 1936 USGS Topographic Map of Coffee Rosenwald School, Florence, Alabama Quadrangle
139 - LAUDERDALE
According to the Fisk-Rosenwald database, the Coffee School of Lauderdale County was a two-teacher, two-room type school. It cost a total of $1500 to construct with $550 donated by the African American community, $450 from the county, and $500 from the Rosenwald Fund. It was one of seven Rosenwald schools in Lauderdale County. - (4667)