Parkville, Missouri has a little schoolhouse with a lot of history and it is in need of a little help from its friends to become a Living History Museum.
Banneker School is one of the first schools for African-American children west of the Mississippi. It is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. It is listed as one of Missouri's Top 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites.
Banneker School is now in disrepair but with your help could become a Living History Museum, where all children can learn about education and segregation of black children before the historic United States Supreme Court decision changed everything in Brown vs. The Topeka Board of Education.
From its earliest days in 1885 when students from Park College helped to build a one room brick schoolhouse for African-American children, the little building was destined for its place in history. The school was named after Benjamin Banneker, a noted African-American 18th Century scientist, mathematician and astronomer, most famous for constructing the first wooden clock in America. Platte County's Banneker School educated black children from Parkville and the surrounding area who were, by state law, prohibited from attending school with white children.
Please help the Banneker School Foundation become a Living History Museum by giving a monetary donation, mail your tax deductible contribution to: Platte County Historical Society, Banneker School Restoration, PO Box 103, Platte City, MO 64079-0103
