FAIRHOPE — Residents and history buffs learned about the history of the Baldwin County Training School and its preservation efforts on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Fairhope Museum of History as Black History Month came to a close.

The presentation was hosted by Howard University graduates Ashanti Ash and Kallia Bonner, who are also volunteers at the Baldwin County Black Education Museum. The museum, located at 1000 Main St. in Daphne, is the former site of the Baldwin County Training School, which for a time served as the only high school for Black students within Baldwin County. Ash said she believes it's "one of the only documented schools in the United States thus far to be built, administered by and maintained by African Americans for the purpose of serving African American school children."

Originally titled the Eastern Shore Baptist Academy, the school was created by the Eastern Shore Missionary Baptist Association, whose members saw a need for secondary education for the Black community in Baldwin County. The group purchased an 18-acre property just outside of Daphne for construction of a classroom in 1881, which saw several expansions over the years. It was renamed the Baldwin County Training School in 1927.

The first class of graduates received their diplomas from the Baldwin County Training School in 1936, with the school continuing to serve the Black community through the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1991, the Baldwin County Training School Heritage Fest Foundation was created, whose mission is to "research, restore, accurately interpret and preserve the rich heritage and excellent contributions of our ancestors and ensure its proper interpretation in American history." The former school building was established as a museum in 2009 in partnership with the Baldwin County Board of Education.

Ash, whose family has resided in Baldwin County for over six generations, has personal connections to the Baldwin County Training School. Her great-grandparents graduated from there in 1954 and 1957. Many of the school's alumni still reside in Baldwin County and annually meet to reflect on the school's history and their experiences.

"It's because of them that I have a real passion for this museum and a real passion for continuing to cultivate that community, and they are also incredibly proud of their history and it's those values that were instilled in me that encouraged me to go to historically Black institutions, Howard University," Ash said.

Ash and Bonner said they are working toward putting together a town hall style meeting to discuss preservation efforts.