The Selma Rosenwald School is a historic school building, just south of US Route 278 on the Selma-Collins Road in Selma, Arkansas. Built in 1924 with funds provided by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, it is the only surviving Rosenwald School in Drew County.
It is a single story wood frame building with two classrooms. The building was used as a school, serving grades 1 through 10, until 1964. It was then acquired by the local Masonic Lodge.
The cost to construct the Selma School was $2,275, and it was one of the cheapest two-room schools constructed during the 1924-1925 budget cycle. ('The average cost of construction for a two-room school during the 1 924- 1925 budget cycle was $3,201) Of the $2,275 cost of construction, $500 came from black contributions, $1,075 came from public funding, and the Rosenwald Fund gave a grant of $700. The Selma Rosenwald School was built using Floor Plan No. 20 for a 'Two Teacher Community School'" from Samuel Smith's Community School Plans. Smith was the General Field Agent for the Rosenwald Fund, and he developed a series of floorplans and specifications for a variety of schools that used the most up-to-date innovations in school design. The detailed blueprints and specifications could 'be obtained from the Rosenwald Fund through the state's education office. Smith felt that having a stock set of blueprints and specifications would allow any community to build a quality school without having to hire an architect, and the school plans turned out to be one of his greatest legacies.
The design chosen for the Selma Rosenwald School, like the other school designs that Smith did for the Rosenwald Fund, also incorporates an industrial room. The inclusion of an industrial room reflected part of Booker T. Washington's Progressive-era educational philosophy. It allowed for girls to be taught sewing and cooking, and boys to be taught farming and working with tools.
The Selma Rosenwald School had classes for students up through the 10th grade and was used as a school until 1964. Once the school closed, the Masons bought the buiIding in the late 1960s or early 1970s for use as their Masonic lodge, and they continue to use it today.
Located across the road from the Sweet Hope Church, the Selma Rosenwald School was the center of life in this rural part of Drew County not only while it was a school, but for several years after. Even today, it serves as the Masonic Lodge for the area, and as the only Rosenwald building surviving in Drew County, the Selma RosenwaId School is a rare and tangible reminder of the philanthropic legacy of Julius Rosenwald.
