Women of Worcester County

(March 18, 2025) On March 18, Allison Blakeman of the Worcester County Historical Society gave a presentation to the Snow Hill Rotary Club titled “The Women of Worcester County: Resilient and Inspiring Teachers During Segregation”.  

Full desegregation of public schools in Worcester County did not take place until 1970. One room schoolhouses served the African-American community in the County in the early part of the 20th century. In the 1920’s, the Rosenwald School program financed the building of schools throughout the segregated south. This program was a collaboration between Julius Rosenwald, President of Sears and Roebuck, and Booker T. Washington, President of the Tuskegee Institute. Eleven Rosenwald Schools were built in Worcester County.

Alison provided biographical sketches of four inspiring teachers from this era. The featured teachers were Jessie Cottman Smith, Hattie N. Gaines Hamilton, Josephine Clark Anderson, and Pearl Cottman Bonner.

Learn more about this topic on the Germantown School Community Heritage Center website. The Germantown School is located in Berlin, Md., and is one of the surviving Rosenwald Schools in the County.