Trinity School (Athens, Alabama)

Trinity School
Location
Athens, Alabama Limestone County United States
Information
School type	Private
Founded	1865
Founder	Mary Fletcher Wells
Closed	1970
Affiliation	American Missionary Association, Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission

Trinity School (1865–1970) was a private secondary school for African American students in Limestone County, Alabama, and was located in Athens, Alabama, United States.

History

It was founded by Mary Fletcher Wells in 1865. The school was sponsored by the Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission and the American Missionary Association, located in a Baptist church initially. It was the only high school for Black students in the county and the first school in the northern half of the state offering kindergarten for Black children, during the time of Jim Crow laws. Wells initially taught under the protection of armed guards. The school had an integrated faculty by 1892. Wells would teach, canning fruits and vegetables for the winter, and returned north to raise funds for the school in the summers. She remained at the school for twenty-seven years.

Originally, the school was located east of the L&N Railroad on what is now Washington Street. The school faced multiple setbacks, including two fires. The first fire in March 1907 destroyed the school, leading to its reconstruction in 1910 on a site that had been a battleground during the Civil War. A second fire in 1912 destroyed the rebuilt structure, and the present school building was completed in 1914. The new school building was built on the ruins of Fort Henderson, and succeeded a wooden school building on the site.

In 1946, the Limestone County school board, under the administration of W.A. Owens, took over the school’s operations. However, the county did not gain official possession of the property until January 1, 1957, following negotiations for ownership transfer initiated in 1954 under the tenure of Floyd Johnson.

Between 1946 and 1958, the school's enrollment grew significantly, rising from 174 students to 493, serving grades seven through twelve. To accommodate the increasing student population, a new school building was constructed in 1956 under the jurisdiction of both the county and city school boards. The new building was located near the old one, and while the auditorium was remodeled, it was not demolished or completely rebuilt. Additionally, a new gymnasium was completed in 1956.

On May 22, 1958, a food poisoning outbreak occurred at Trinity High School in Athens, Alabama. The incident resulted in 61 students falling ill after consuming a school lunch, with 34 of them requiring hospitalization at Athens-Limestone Hospital. The last two hospitalized students, David Davis and Alice Atkins, were released the following day. The affected students were among the 91 who had eaten lunch at the school cafeteria on the day of the incident. The school's principal, W. H. Ashford, confirmed the mass illness, and Limestone County Sanitation Officer Jake Williams reported that food samples had been sent to the State Health Department for analysis. However, authorities doubted whether the exact cause of the outbreak could be determined. The reported menu included meatloaf, turnip greens, corn, hot rolls, ice cream, bologna sandwiches, and macaroni and cheese. Despite efforts to identify the source of contamination, no definitive conclusion was reached.

On April 22, 1959, bids were taken for the renovation and expansion of Trinity High School, the only African American high school in Limestone County, Alabama. The W.C. Chambers Construction and Supply Company of Athens was awarded the lowest bid of $135,210 for the project, which included remodeling twelve classrooms and adding new construction to the existing structure. The expansion was made possible through a legislative act that allowed both the City and County School Systems to collaborate in funding school construction projects. The cost distribution was based on an average daily attendance calculation, with Limestone County covering 68% of the costs and the City of Athens responsible for 32%. The project aimed to accommodate the growing student population and improve educational facilities at Trinity High School.

Trinity was closed in 1970, after court-ordered desegregation.

Legacy

A historical marker by the cistern that served the 1865–1907 school building commemorates the school's history. A historical marker is also located at the Fort Henderson site. There have been efforts to preserve and restore what remains of the school sites and buildings.

Alumni

• Patti J. Malone, mezzo-soprano vocalist
• C. Eric Lincoln, novelist
• George Ruffin Bridgeforth, professor and agriculture department head at Tuskegee Institute