Hiram Colored School
Why it's listed
Built in 1930 in Hiram, Georgia, this one-story wood-frame building served as a school for the area's Black children until 1955. It was constructed from the Rosenwald Fund's "Two Teacher Community School" plan, with two open classrooms divided by a movable partition, an industrial room, cloak rooms and a built-in library. The $3,010 cost was shared among the Black community, white residents, the public school system and the Rosenwald Fund. It was the only Rosenwald school in Paulding County, and the only Black school there with a library of 130 books. Students attended first through ninth grades, and only one other Black school in the county offered ninth grade. After the county consolidated its Black schools, the building was sold in 1955 to Sweet Home Baptist Church, which uses it as a community center. Its tongue-and-groove pine interior, partition track and ribbon-window openings survive, and these features support its recognition for ethnic heritage, education and architecture.
Significance in brief: The school was built with money from the Julius Rosenwald Fund and is the only Rosenwald school in Paulding County. It is significant statewide for Ethnic Heritage: African-American, education, and architecture, as an excellent example of a Rosenwald-designed school. It taught first through ninth grades and had the only library among the county's Black schools.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01000494, listed May 10, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | W of GA 92 bet. jct. of Fitzgerald and Ragsdale Sts., Hiram |
|---|---|
| County | Paulding County |
| Listed | May 10, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01000494 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1930-1955 |
| Architectural style | no style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Sold to Sweet Home Baptist Church in 1955; now used as a community center and for church and community events. Original windows replaced, but historic openings and interior features remain. |
| Acreage | 1.7 |
| Coordinates | 33.88145, -84.76002 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01000494.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q105671660
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.