350 Caldwell St. / Orange County Training School (second) / Northside Elementary

The Orange County Training School building was completed in late 1924, on six and one-half acres of land donated by Henry Stroud between present-day McMaster and Caldwell streets in the Northside neighborhood. The building replaced the original Orange County Training School that had been located on Merritt Mill Road.

The Orange County School Board tried to cut back on funding for construction of the new school, and the community had to ensure that such materials as brick were used instead of cheaper materials like cinder block. The building's cornerstone was laid in a well-attended public ceremony September 1, 1924. The ceremonies were conducted by Mount Olive Lodge No. 36 of the Masonic Order. The school's first principal was B. L. Bosman.

The total cost of the school was $23,112.00, with the black community raising $500.00, the general public raising $15,000.00, the white community raising $6,112.00, and the Rosenwald fund providing $1,500.00 towards its construction.

From the September 11. 1924 CHW (from left to right are: Rev. L. H. Hackney, George Booth, B. L. Bozeman, Tom Booth, and Rick Taylor)

The cornerstone laying ceremony; from left to right are: Rev. L. H. Hackney, George Booth (Worshipful Master of the Lodge), B. L. Bozeman (school principal), Tom Booth, and Rick Taylor (image from the CHW)

Circa 1925 (Fisk University Rosenwald Fund Card File Database)

Circa 1925 (Fisk University Rosenwald Fund Card File Database)

It was a nine-teacher type building plan, and its application number was 60-D. It was the largest Rosenwald in the county.

Excerpt of June 1925 Sanborn map

A new addition was added to the front of the school in 1935, which enabled the administration to separate the elementary school from the high school (as grades 1-12 attended the school). The school was renamed Lincoln High School in 1948 and Northside Elementary in 1951, when the new Lincoln High School was built on Merritt Mill Road.

The school closed shortly after mandatory integration of the district began in 1966. The building was then used mainly as office space until it was razed to make way for a new school building; an even newer (and quite large) school was built in 2013.