Germantown School Community Heritage Center, Berlin, MD

History
Built in 1922, the single-story frame schoolhouse, resting atop a rusticated concrete block foundation, was financed through the Rosenwald rural school building program, which began in 1912 as a major effort to improve the quality of public education for African Americans throughout the South. Begun in 1912, the program financed thousands of new schools; eleven of which were erected in Worcester County. The Germantown School, however, is one of two surviving Rosenwald Schools in Worcester County, and it will be the only one adapted as a private museum/community center accessible to the public. Throughout the South, Julius Rosenwald financed the construction of thousands of school buildings, spending more than $28 million between 1912 and 1932 when the program was closed down. The Germantown School remained in active use until the mid 1960s. Afterwards, it was converted into a county road barn with the removal of the front wall and the installation of four garage bays and a ground-level concrete floor. The committee for the Germantown School Community Center was given the property for their mission to revitalize the building.