158 North Church Street
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Last updated April 2, 2024
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Mt. Zion Methodist Church and Woodstock Colored School in 1921 was the small building pictured here behind the church sanctuary.
The Woodstock “Colored School” existed from 1867 to 1937. The school was originally opened under the Freedmen's Bureau and called the Lincoln School. After the Mt. Zion Methodist Church was established, the school was moved into the same building at the church in 1867. The school year lasted from January to May or June and enrolled an estimated 15 to 60 students. The teachers taught their students a variety of subjects to provide quality education. Only grades 1-7 were available, and those who sought higher education had to travel to attend school. In 1870, the school’s responsibility fell under the church after the public school system was implemented, and it became a segregate Black public school. The school received insignificant funding therefore, the African American community united to raise money and advocated for a schoolhouse. After long years of lobbying, the city council gave funds for a one-room school built behind the church on its property. There was a stark difference in the Woodstock “Colored School” compared to white schools in the area, which were much bigger and much better funded and provided education for grades 1-12. The school closed in 1937, and the property was sold and demolished.
