By: Nate Johnson
Apr 8, 2024
The Featured Projects series focuses on historic preservation projects focused on preserving Black history throughout SC. Each project is asked to respond to four prompts. We hope this series helps bring awareness to the stunning number and variety of preservation projects being undertaken across the state, highlights the dedication of our community leaders, and inspires future generations of projects.
Want to feature your preservation project? Send us an email here.
| Provide a brief summary of your project, making sure to include why it’s important for African American historic preservation. |
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| We successfully nominated Sims High School in Union, South Carolina, to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. The project included photographing and documenting the building’s condition, networking with alumni to record their memories of the school, and researching the local history of racial segregation and integration in education. Sims High School was the center of the Black community in Union County. It has remained a point of pride for many people. To preserve the school building is to keep Black history in Union tangible and visible. Very few historic Black schools still stand in Union County, making Sims High School a precious resource. |
| What motivated you/your community/your team to begin this project? |
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| The motivation for this project came primarily from alumni who wanted to see their former school preserved. They care deeply about Sims High School. The building contains their memories and is the foundation for their legacies. It’s where they formed lifelong friendships, gained an education, and built a community. Alumni of Sims High School graduated between 1956 and 1970. They want to see something happen with this building in their lifetime. |
| What challenges have you faced in this project? |
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| One challenge was to move quickly. The nomination process is long and a building as large as Sims High School is complex to document. My wife and I did the nomination as volunteers, so finding time to give proper attention to the project could be hard. Preservation projects are a race against time. The Sims High School building has not been used since 2009, so its condition is worsening as each year passes. One of the reasons that alumni and supporters wanted to get the building listed in the National Register of Historic Places was to make it eligible for historic tax credits. This could support investment in the building’s rehabilitation, restoration, adaptive reuse, or even its continued use as an educational facility. |
| How have you solved problems and found solutions? What advice would you give to others doing this kind of work? |
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| If you’re having trouble documenting the history of a place/building, find the local experts. Talk to people. Let them guide you and tell you why this place is important. Curtiss Hunter organized multiple community meetings where alumni discussed the significance and history of Sims High School. These meetings were indispensable sources of information. Various people shared their perspectives, stories, knowledge, and memories. Dr. Tom Crosby had already gathered and organized historic photos, articles, programs, and other records establishing facts, timelines, and a narrative for the school’s history. |