If you have driven through south Fairhope in the past year or two, you may have seen some changes to the site of the historic Anna T. Jeanes School. There are colorful benches in the parking lot, …
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If you have driven through south Fairhope in the past year or two, you may have seen some changes to the site of the historic Anna T. Jeanes School. There are colorful benches in the parking lot, raised planters have been in stalled, and the property is regularly maintained.
The curious may have pulled in to read the banner hanging on the fence that reads Hope Community.
The local organization is looking to accomplish a lot, but one of their primary goals is to bring the entire Fairhope community together.
Their mission, "nurturing unity and relationship through food, healing and education," seems simple, but it has many facets. One goal is the project to preserve the historic school property at the corner of South Section Street and Twin Beech.
A historic marker was placed on the property in 2021 to commemorate the role of the school, which for a half-century was an education center for Fairhope’s Black students and a focal point for the Eastern Shore community.
Hope Community holds a lease on the property, currently through the Baldwin County Board of Education, but it ends in December. The group is hoping to get a long-term lease to eventually build a teaching farm and kitchen, an arts and cultural center and a life skills development program.
Gulf Coast Media sat down with two Hope Community board members, Clarice Hall-Black and Vickie Graham. Both grew up in south Fairhope, are cousins (Graham fourth generation and Hall-Black fifth) and have their own fond memories of Anna T. Jeanes’ property.
Graham went to school there through seventh grade when schools in Baldwin County had already been integrated. She said she found her report cards from first grade but laughed at the thought of them being included in the future museum and having people see how she did as a young student.
For Hall-Black, the Anna T. Jeanes School property was a place she and her neighborhood friends would adventure through.
“As kids, we used to walk through the gully and go up and we would come out at the school on the backside,” Hall-Black said.
Hope Community members and community volunteers have been slowly working on phase one, the teaching farm, on the 12-acre site. Currently, there is a field of zinnias and six raised planter beds, and they will soon add 16 more thanks to their fundraising efforts. The group has always teamed up with the Jones Valley Teaching Farm in Birmingham for guidance.
The end goal for the teaching farm is to educate everyone, but especially young school children, how to grow food, get their hands dirty and learn to love the land. Hall-Black said the work on the property up to this point has already been great for her young children.
The group has grown a lot since its start in 2016 when two organizations merged, Fairhope Community and Fairhope Unite. Hall-Black said the two groups shared members and goals and opted to unite and become one. During their monthly meeting Tuesday, June 25, it was noted the group had 500 members and is growing rapidly.
The members are welcoming and passionate about building a community and a place for everyone on the south Fairhope property. Through their programs like FoodRX Healthy Cooking Class & Dinners held at the USA Mapp Family Medical Campus’s teaching kitchen and monthly meetings with guest speakers, they are drawing new community members.
Hope Community has opportunities for people to get involved, and it seems many have come to the group because they heard about the cleanup days or saw people working at the Anna T. Jeanes property. Each workday ends with a potluck. During the cleanup day, the group harvests from the gardens every third Saturday.
The group is also in the planning stages of its first 5K through south Fairhope Nov. 9. The fundraiser will include a maker’s market on the property that will hopefully draw crowds like the market by the pier. Details are forthcoming.
