Site of Lincoln High School

Site of Lincoln High School

In 1891, the first high school for African-American students in Palestine opened in the mission church on San Jacinto Street. Four years later, the school moved to this site and became known as Lincoln High School. The first class graduated from Lincoln in 1896. Originally a four-room building, the schoolhouse was expanded over time to accommodate increasing enrollment.

In 1922, the Lincoln school building burned, and classes were held in several churches until the new, six-room brick structure was completed in 1923. As rural districts consolidated with Palestine, enrollment at Lincoln continued to increase, and the school became an important cultural center for the African-American community.

In 1952, the school board approved construction of a new high school to be named in honor of Alonzo Marion Story, Lincoln's principal from 1925 to 1949. The building that had formerly housed the high school reopened as Lincoln Junior High in the fall of 1953. Serving grades five through eight, it later housed grades two through eight before closing in 1965 when the Palestine schools integrated.

After 1965, the Lincoln school building remained in use as an important social center and as headquarters for the Anderson County community council. A 1996 fire resulted in its demolition, but this site remains a significant part of the educational and community heritage of Palestine and Anderson County.

(2002).