Carver Birthplace Association to host program on buffalo soldiers Saturday

May 2—How to help Donations to assist in the preservation of the 1872 Neosho Colored School can be made at https://paypal.me/1872colored school?country.x=US& locale.x=en_US or mailed to the Carver Birthplace Association, 5646 Carver Road, Diamond MO 64840. People can follow the Carver Birthplace Association's activities on its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ CarverBirthplace Association.

NEOSHO, Mo. — Work continues to restore the school that helped educate one of the 20th century's most famous scientists.

The group leading that restoration will discuss the project during a weekend program.

The Carver Birthplace Association also is bringing in a reenactment troupe to share history and first-person interpretation about the lives of Black soldiers during the Civil War.

The program is scheduled for 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Wright Conference Center in Farber Hall at Crowder College.

"Buffalo Soldiers: Slave to Soldier" will be presented by representatives of the Buffalo Soldiers Alexander/Madison Chapter (Kansas City) and is made possible by the Missouri Humanities Council through its speakers bureau, in cooperation with the State Historical Society of Missouri.

"This form of historical storytelling is a great way to engage the audience who may feel they are being transported back in time," Carver Birthplace Association President Lana Henry said. "We have a very active board of directors who have pulled together to provide this event. CBA board member Michele Hansford planned the event, board member Judy Stiles arranged for sponsorship through Thrivent, and board members Dr. Denna Clymer and Jimmy Sexton worked to coordinate the venue. At the beginning of the program we plan to take a few minutes to share an update about the 1872 Neosho Colored School project. There is a lot of momentum underway as we work to complete the interior rehabilitation."

The program is free, and doors will open at 1 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided, and informational displays will be available on the 1872 school, which is at 639 Young St. in Neosho.

Carver school

According to the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation, in 1872 the Neosho Board of Education bought a small home to use as a school for black students.

Carver, who was born near Diamond in 1865, started his formal education there at the age of 10. The George Washington Carver National Monument, 5646 Carver Road, Diamond, preserves the site of Carver's birthplace.

Carver himself recalled walking to Neosho when he was about 10 years old to attend school.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carver were very kind to me and I thank them so much for my home training," Carver wrote in 1897 in a letter posted on the George Washington Carver National Monument website. "They encouraged me to secure knowledge helping me all they could, but this was quite limited. As we lived in the country no colored schools were available. So I was permitted to go eight miles to a school at town (Neosho). This simply sharpened my appetite for more knowledge."

It's not clear how long Carver attended the school in Neosho.

The building itself served as a school from 1872-1891, when it was sold and turned back into a private home.

While the community knew a school for Black children had been located on the site on Young Street and that Carver had attended that school, the fact that the old school building still existed had been forgotten until 2004, when it was discovered that a small rundown rental house had been concealing the original schoolhouse for over a century.

Arvest Bank had acquired the home in a bankruptcy proceeding in 2004 and donated the site to the Carver Birthplace Association.

In 2023, the association was awarded a $70,000 grant from the National Trust for Historical Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and the Alliance for Historic Preservation declared the school one of its "Places in Peril" in an effort to bring attention to it.

Henry said the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund grant has given the group momentum in its fundraising efforts.

"Community members have sent donations individually to our group," Henry said. "We've raised several thousand dollars just from people who want to he part of this project so we can see the momentum this grant has provided us."