BARDSTOWN, Ky. — The first public school for Black students in Nelson County is getting a new life.
The little schoolhouse holds Carrie Stivers’ earliest memories.
“We used to play around here,” said Stivers, a member of the Nelson County Black Citizens Art Council. “My mother used to always call it the old schoolhouse.”
The school began out of necessity, with Black residents of Bardstown finding no other options for their children to pursue education.
So, over a hundred years ago, the Bowman Cherry Center opened as the first public school for Black children in Nelson County.
“The parents themselves initiated all this,” said Sister Theresa Knabel of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. “They wanted an education for their children, and it was not being provided by anyone else.”
In 1981, the city wanted to tear it down.
“I never realized until I was in my 20s that this is not right,” said Stivers. “I just accepted it. By the time I found that they were going to come through and knock down something that was us, I think that’s what motivated me.”
That’s when the Black Citizen Art Council took over the building, turning it into an education center.
“This was the schoolhouse before the renovation,” said Angel Thompson of the Nelson County Black Citizen Art Council. “Here is a ribbon cutting, and that’s Miss Carrie right there.”
After 120 years, the building needed a major overhaul.
“There was fire damage, water damage, termite damage,” said Knabel. “And the arts council owns the building, but they did not have the funds to repair it.”
So, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth stepped in, backing restoration efforts to breathe new life into the building.
“I think people are listening to us this time,” said Stivers. “I think we got the sisters on our side.”
The center will offer educational programs, art workshops, and entrepreneurship training for youth.
“Before even my time, people in the community have been coming together hosting plays, theater, art pieces, gallery and opportunities for people to be able to express themselves through arts,” said Thompson.
Future programs include a partnership with Flaglet Memorial Hospital, bringing wellness programs into the historic district.