Dennis High School

Dennis High School, also known as Dennis Elementary School and Dennis Primary School, is a historic high school building for African-American students located at Bishopville, Lee County, South Carolina. White students attended Bishopville High School, three blocks away. Although the law provided for a separate but equal education, $71,000 was allocated to build Bishopville for the whites while only Dennis was built for $17,000. The expenditures for student at BHS were $48.38 per student, but only $5.68 for each Black student at Dennis. When Dennis High School later burned down, the Black students were just made to double up with the elementary students for 12 years.[2] Dennis was the only school in the county for black students, and no public bus service was provided until 1952.[3]

Dennis High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Dennis High School, February 2013
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Location	410 W. Cedar Ln., Bishopville, South Carolina
Coordinates	34°13′27″N 80°14′55″W
Area	1.2 acres (0.49 ha)
Built	1936 (1936)
Built by	E.C.B. Construction Company
Architect	Edgeworth and McBride
Architectural style	Classical Revival
MPS	African--American Primary and Secondary School Buildings MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001565[1]
Added to NRHP	January 26, 2005

The original L-shaped building is a one-story, load-bearing red brick Colonial Revival style structure that rests on a masonry foundation. Recessed symmetrical wings flank the main block. A third wing, which gave the building its original L-shape, houses the auditorium. A single classroom addition was built in 1954.[4][5]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "DENNIS HIGH SCHOOL". Retrieved 2 July 2020.
3. Burns, Randy (February 18, 2011). "March on Elliott to celebrate Lee County's black leaders". Sumter Item. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
4. Michael Edmonds (August 2004). "Dennis High School" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved June 2014. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
5. "Dennis High School, Lee County (410 W. Cedar Ln., Bishopville)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved June 2014. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)