# Burrell Normal School > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Burrell_Normal_School > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Burrell_Normal_School.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrell_Normal_School > Source revision: 1323813230 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|School in Alabama, U.S. (1903–1960)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox school | name = Burrell Normal School | image = Burrell Normal School, Florence.png | caption = Burrell Normal School (c. 1908) | location = [Florence](/source/Florence%2C_Alabama), [Lauderdale County](/source/Lauderdale_County%2C_Alabama), Alabama, U.S. | coordinates = {{Coord|34.796194|-87.682832|display=inline,title}} | other_name = Burrell Academy,
Burrell High School,
Burrell–Slater High School | schooltype = grammar school, high school, and normal school | type = Private Christian | established = {{start date|1903}} | closed = 1969 | affiliation = [American Missionary Association](/source/American_Missionary_Association) }} '''Burrell Normal School''' (1903–1969), was a private school for African American students established in 1903 in [Florence](/source/Florence%2C_Alabama), Alabama.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uT4LPyzvEWUC |title=An Era of Progress and Promise: 1863–1910 |date= |publisher=Priscilla Pub. Co. |year=1910 |editor-last=Hartshorn |editor-first=W. N. |location=Boston, MA |pages=151 |language=en |oclc=5343815 |editor-last2=Penniman |editor-first2=George W.}}{{Cite book |last=Owen |first=Thomas McAdory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEkUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA596 |title=History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography |date=1921 |publisher=S. J. Clarke publishing Company |pages=596 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1903 |title=Florence Gets Negro School |pages=1 |work=Florence Herald}} The school was for grades 1 to 12, and served as a [normal school](/source/normal_school). A historical marker for the school was erected by the Florence Historical Board and is located at W College Street at Burrell Street in Florence.{{Cite web |title=Burrell Normal School Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=83940 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Historical Marker Database (HMDB) |language=en}} It was also known as '''Burrell Academy''', '''Burrell High School''', and '''Burrell–Slater High School'''. == History == The school was first named Burrell Academy and was initially located in [Selma](/source/Selma%2C_Alabama), Alabama.{{Cite web |title=Historic Resource Study of African American Schools in the South, 1865–1900: Burrell Academy and Clark School |url=http://npshistory.com/publications/hrs-aa-s-schools.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928062401/http://npshistory.com/publications/hrs-aa-s-schools.pdf |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |pages=202–212}} It was founded in 1869 as the first school for Blacks in the city of Selma, and was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1900. In 1903, the school was rebuilt by the [American Missionary Association](/source/American_Missionary_Association) (A.M.A), which had decided to change the location of the building based on need to Florence, Alabama. The first class to attend the new school was in 1904, and the first graduating class was in 1906. In 1905, they had four teachers, including the principal. thumb|Upper grades (c. 1910) at Burrell Normal School|alt=Upper grades (c. 1910) at Burrell Normal School|left Benjamin F. Cox was the first principal, serving from 1905 to 1906.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pAzPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA251 |title=The American Missionary |date=1908 |publisher=American Missionary Association |editor-last=Beard |editor-first=A. F. |volume=62 |pages=251–252 |language=en}} In 1906, Cox was transferred to an Albany Normal School in [Albany](/source/Albany%2C_Georgia), Georgia; and George N. White was promoted to the role of principal. In 1937, the Florence City Board of Education assumed its operation of the school and changed the name to Burrell High School.{{Cite web |date= |title=1900 to 1949: Construction of Schools and Libraries |url=http://florencehistory.org/1900-to-1949/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928063950/http://florencehistory.org/1900-to-1949/ |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |access-date= |website=Florence History: Bicentennial |language=en-US}} In 1951, the school was moved to the Slater Elementary School Building, and the name was changed to Burrell–Slater High School. The Burrell–Slater building burned in 1958, and a new Burrell-Slater building was constructed on the original site by 1960. In 1969, after racial integration, it became the first vocational school in the city. The 1908–1909 catalog for the Burrell Normal School can be found at the [Alabama Department of Archives and History](/source/Alabama_Department_of_Archives_and_History).{{Cite web |title=Catalog of the Burrell Normal School in Florence, Alabama |url=https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/voices/id/13234 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Alabama Department of Archives and History}} == References == {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} Category:Educational institutions established in 1903 Category:Educational institutions disestablished in 1969 Category:Historically segregated African-American schools in Alabama Category:Schools in Lauderdale County, Alabama Category:Schools in Florence, Alabama Category:1903 establishments in Alabama Category:1969 disestablishments in Alabama Category:Schools supported by the American Missionary Association Category:Defunct black public schools in the United States that closed when schools were integrated --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Burrell Normal School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrell_Normal_School) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrell_Normal_School?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.