Iron Hill School:
An African-American
One-Room School

(Susan Brizzolara Wojcik) I wonder how she did it. Looking back, I really do. I remember her taking time with each class. As I remember, she got the younger children started on a project, maybe painting or going over our ABCs or our numbers. Then she would go on to the next class and get them started. We were all kind of getting started and busy. Then she went to the older children. She spent maybe a little more time with them because their lessons were a little more complicated. Then she would come back to us. But we knew that her eyes were on us and we kept busy. By the time she came back we tried to have our work done, at least I did....And that's how I remember her accomplishing her teaching. --Rebecca Freeman, former student at Iron Hill School   Iron Hill School, constructed in 1923 in a rural area of northern Delaware, was one of more than 80 schools for African-American children built between 1919 and 1928 as part of philanthropist Pierre Samuel du Pont's "Delaware experiment." Though small and modest, these school buildings incorporated the latest design concepts in Progressive era education.

TABLE OF CONTENTS About This Lesson Getting Started: Inquiry Question Setting the Stage: Historical Context Locating the Site: Maps 1. Delaware Determining the Facts: Readings 1. Pierre du Pont and Delaware's Schools 2. Progressive School Architecture 3. Memories of Former Iron Hill Students Visual Evidence: Images 1. Iron Hill School 2. School floor plan 3. Inside Iron Hill School 4. School furniture advertisement 5. African-American school interior, 1916 Putting It All Together: Activities 1. Researching Philanthropists 2. Collecting Oral Histories 3. The History of Your School Supplementary Resources

RELATED INFORMATION How to Use a TwHP Lesson Lessons on Related Topics TwHP Home National Register Home About the National Register How the National Register Helps Teachers Contact TwHP This lesson is based on the Iron Hill School historic site, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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