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Friends of School Hill oral histories and images
Notifications
Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]181 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19717-5267
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The first documented public school for African-American youth in the Newark community was established in 1867 by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. This was one of several schools established in Delaware during the post-Civil War "reconstruction" period through this federal government program, which was designed to assist African-Americans in states where slavery was legal before the Civil War.
In 1922 a new school housing grades 1-8 was built here on land purchased from John Nields. There were four classrooms on the first floor and a lunchroom in the basement. Funding for construction was provided by P. S. duPont and the Delaware School Auxiliary Association. The building functioned as a school until integration took place in 1958.
The school and surrounding property, also known as "School Hill", was an important meeting place for neighborhood residents for social and recreational gatherings as well. In 1961, the City of Newark purchased the building and grounds. Significant renovations took place and the New London Community Center opened in 1970. In 1977, the building was renamed in honor of George M. Wilson, a leader in improving housing conditions for members of Newark's African-American community and former member of Newark's City Council.
Historical information derived from the collection.
Oral histories and images related to the School Hill community, collected at two events.
"Preserving the Past: Gathering History & Mementos of the New London Road / School Hill Community," was held on Saturday, May 20, 2017, and was sponsored by the Friends of School Hill, NAACP of Delaware, and the University of Delaware. It comprises two series: I. Administrative materials and II. Audiovisual materials and images. Additional documentation from the event, including the event sign-in sheet, completed release forms, and release and metadata forms for scanned images, are maintained in the collection folder housed in Special Collections.
"A Celebration for the New London Avenue School, One Hundred Years," was held on Sunday, March 6, 2022, and was also sponsored by the Friends of School Hill. It comprises one series (III.), which includes both images and ephemera.
Box 1: Shelved in SPEC MSS manuscript boxes (1 inch)
Access streaming video, transcripts, and digital images by following the links in the finding aid. The digitized video files are available in Artstor Public Collections. Transcripts for most recordings can be accessed in the University of Delaware Institutional Repository.
Produced by University of Delaware Library, 2017, 2022. Transfers from George Wilson Center, May 2017.
Processed by Molly Olney-Zide, July 2017. Finding aid encoded by Jaime Margalotti, August 2017. Updated by Jaime Margalotti, 2022.
Organization
Subject
- African Americans--Education--Delaware--History--20th century
- Education--Newark (Del.)--History--20th century
- Segregation in education--Delaware--History--20th century
- Delaware--Race relations--History--20th century
- African Americans--Delaware--20th century--Interviews
- Oral History--Delaware--Newark--20th century
Place
- Publisher
- University of Delaware Library Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
- Finding Aid Date
- 2017-07-07
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec
Collection Inventory
Includes fliers, signs, handouts, and blank copies of forms used during the event.
Patricia Wilson Aden, granddaughter of George Wilson, gives opening remarks for the "Preserving the Past: Gathering History & Mementos of the New London Road / School Hill Community" event on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at the George Wilson Center in Newark, Delaware. Running time: 11 minutes, 14 seconds.
Includes video and PDF transcript.
Interviewed by Christopher Kelley. Running time: 14 minutes, 32 seconds. Congo discusses the history of the George Wilson Center located in Newark, Delaware and the surrounding areas.
Includes oral history and PDF of transcript.
Interviewed by Christina Holubinka and Miles Miller. Running time: 16 minutes, 25 seconds.
Alvin Hall guides a narrated walking tour of the George Wilson Center and provides information about the history of the building, how it has changed, and his experiences as a student. Freeman Williams [6:00] joins Hall during the tour and provides additional historical background.
Includes oral history and PDF transcript.
Interviewed by Christina Holubinka and Miles Miller. Running time: 30 minutes, 17 seconds.
Alvin Hall guides a narrated walking tour of the George Wilson Center and provides information about the history of the building, how it has changed, and his experiences as a student. Theresa Warren [24:00] joins Hall during the walking tour to provide background information for the Iron Hill School.
Includes oral history and PDF transcript.
Interviewed by Christopher Kelley. Running time: 18 minutes, 59 seconds.
Henderson discusses the history of the George Wilson Center located in Newark, Delaware and the surrounding areas.
Includes oral history and PDF transcript.
Interviewed by Miles Miller. Running time: 31 minutes, 53 seconds.
Ponzo and Aden, family members of George Wilson, discuss the history of the George Wilson Center located in Newark, Delaware and the surrounding areas.
Includes oral history and PDF transcript.
Interviewed by Christopher Kelley and Miles Miller. Running time: 43 minutes, 59 seconds.
Woolford discusses the history of the George Wilson Center located in Newark, Delaware and the surrounding areas.
Includes oral history and PDF transcript.
Includes 28 items relating to the event "Preserving the Past: Gathering History & Mementos of the New London Road / School Hill Community," May 20, 2017. This photo book includes the flyer created by Newark Parks & Recreation to promote the event and images taken during the event. Photographer: Christina Holubinka, Newark Parks & Recreation
Images grouped under the individual who brought them to the event.
Photograph taken at Mount Zion U.A.M.E. 100 New London Rd.
Great great grandparents of Sandra Patrick (Marrow) -- Josephine Millburn Williams and George Williams. Painting by Chalk.
Margaret ready for church. William resting after work. Children of Margaret and William are William Jr., Chester, Charlotte, Hester, Josephine, and Carrie.
List of the All-State basketball players for the 1970-1971 season.
Selectons from scrapbook provided by Patricia Wilson Aden
Image shared by Noah Ernest (Ernie) Congo of family property in Newark, Delaware, in the 1950s. The structures in the middle are Bell's Funeral Home and the Wagon Wheel. The two red-roofed buildings are private homes. Some of this land now forms the parking lot of the George Wilson Center. See Oral History -- Noah Ernest Congo, 2017, in this collection for more information.
Consists of one event program, a bookmark, and a paper gift bag