Conway residents looking to preserve Whittemore Elementary School as building faces demolition - WMBF

CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) - The Whittemore Elementary School building in Conway continues to face an uncertain future, as it’s set to be demolished.

However, some Conway residents and former students like Cheryl Adamson say the school should be preserved for its historical value to members of the Black community.

”I think about all of the good times we had as students here back in the 50′s, 60′s‚ 70’s,” she said. “And I received the best foundation of education that could have been given to any students in Horry County.”

Whittemore Elementary was opened in 1954, serving as an equalization school in South Carolina - meaning it only taught African-American students prior to integration.

The City of Conway has owned the building since 2018, after it saw extensive amounts of damage caused by Hurricane Matthew two years prior. City officials have proposed demolishing the building, citing reports from numerous consultants who inspected the building and found it was beyond repair. The building was condemned in 2020.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | City of Conway, residents disagree over future of Whittemore Elementary School

While the city has acknowledged Whittemore Elementary’s historical significance, it also said restoring the building would come with a nearly $20 million price tag.

“The building is unquestionably historic,” City of Conway Administrator Adam Emrick during an October meeting with concerned residents regarding Whittemore Elementary. “It was determined to be eligible for the national registrar on two criteria. That said, the building is beyond repair in our opinion.”

As of now, the building is not being recognized as a historical landmark.

“We just hope that we will be able to convince the powers that it would be the interest of the entire community to keep a place like Whittemore elementary school,” said Adamson.

Former teacher Cedric Blain-Spain mentioned that, for many years, Whittemore was the only school in Horry County for African-Americans to get their education. Spain taught at Whittemore after the school had been converted to accommodate for special education in its later years.

He also said he didn’t want to see Whittemore Elementary School suffer the same fate as many other landmarks before it.

“When we think of history, when we think about these schools and we think about the area period. So many of the African-American, Black landmarks have been demolished,” said Spain. “We ask for this building to continue to stand and to be...that incubator to go back to generations to come. And to reach back and say ‘You helped us, and we helped you to be the best you can be.’”

Residents and members of the Whittemore Racepath Historical Society are hoping to preserve the building, and renovate it into a community center. Adamson has called for a similar proposal, also making it into a museum of African-American history for generations to come.

No date has been set for the building’s demolition.

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Conway residents looking to preserve Whittemore Elementary School as building faces demolition - WMBF
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