The Historic Eureka School educated thousands of Hattiesburg area African Americans from September 1921 to (Month) 1987.
The Historic Eureka School educated thousands of Hattiesburg area African Americans from 1921 to 1987.
In August and September of 2021, the Historic Eureka School celebrated its Centennial with several events to commemorate these 100 years of service to Hattiesburg and its residents.
The Legacy of Love Exhibit was the kickoff of the Historic Eureka School Centennial Celebration. The exhibit, named after Grace and Mary Elise Love, a mother and daughter who were both educators in Hattiesburg in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Both women taught at Eureka School at some point in their careers. Grace Love taught in Hattiesburg public schools for more than 35 years, and her daughter, Mary Elise Love, taught in Hattiesburg public schools for 41 years. The Legacy of Love Exhibit featured handwritten letters, photographs, a Eureka High School Diploma, certificates, drawings, and lesson plans created and shared between the two women.
As a part of Historic Eureka School’s Centennial Celebration, Faces of Eureka, a photographic celebration of people who attended the Historic Eureka School, was displayed on the light poles that line Sixth Street, beginning on the corner of Mobile Street and extending past the Oseola McCarty House and the African American Military History Museum. Each banner features a Eureka School student who attended during the school’s operation between 1921 and 1987.
The ongoing exhibit will be changed out periodically as more photographs of Eureka School students are taken and banners are produced. The photographer for Faces of Eureka is Nashville-based Kate Dearman, owner of Kate Dearman Photography. Kate is a Hattiesburg native and has donated her time and professional experience as a special gift to her hometown.
