Walking Wednesdays Tour of East White Oak School

The East White Oak School was constructed by the Cone family around 1916 to serve grades 1-5 for children of African American mill workers. It has been on the National Register since 1991 based on Criteria A – through associations with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history – specifically Black history. Interestingly, the building is owned by a small nonprofit established in 1956 to preserve the structure and today it serves low-income communities surrounding the site as the East White Oak Community Center. The fact that the building was preserved by community action as early as 1956 is an important note in Greensboro’s history – the holding organization pre-dated the formation of Preservation Greensboro by a decade!

The building is remarkably well-preserved and serves as a touchstone to early Guilford County educational structures, and will be the focus of this tour that will have rare access to interior spaces. Led by Preservation Greensboro’s executive director Benjamin Briggs. The tour will take approximately one hour.