LA GRANGE — The Fayette County Historical Commission and the Randolph High School Alumni Association are dedicating the new Randolph School historical marker Saturday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m. at 653 E. Pearl St. in La Grange.
This is currently the site of the Randolph Recreation Center owned and operated by the City of La Grange.
African American students attended school at this site from 1903 to 1965 when local schools were integrated.
The original building was a two-story frame structure, which was replaced with an H-shaped brick building in 1934. The La Grange Negro High School was renamed in 1946 in honor of its former principal, Giles A. Randolph.
In 1949, a gymnasium/ auditorium and kitchen building was erected to the west of the original structure. Four new classrooms were also built in front of the original building, leaving a courtyard in between.
Finally, in May 1957, two large classrooms were built in front of the gymnasium.
For the first five years after local schools were integrated, the campus was La Grange Junior High School. After 1970, the school district never utilized the entire campus. In 2004, the city of La Grange reopened the gymnasium as the Randolph Recreation Center, and now the entire complex offers a variety of community services.
The marker dedication is set for Labor Day weekend to coincide with the biennial reunion of the Randolph High School Alumni Association at the Randolph Recreation Center.
It is hoped that many former students will return to honor their past history within these Randolph School walls.
