Lyon's Park (Lakewood/Cemetery) School

Photo courtesy of Fisk University Franklin Library, Special Collections

This four-teacher school was built for the 1922-23 school year. It was constructed on two acres of land and cost $5,500. Of this total, $400 came from the black community, $4,000 from public funds (provided by the Durham County school board), and $1,100 came from the Rosenwald Fund. The Lyon's Park School was located in Durham Township near Maplewood Cemetery. It was completed during the tenure of Jeanes supervisor Mattie Day in 1927 and was one of the schools annexed into the Durham city school district.

At its opening, the Lyon's Park School was already heavily subscribed, with 117 students served by four teachers. In light of this, Rosenwald Fund supervisor W. F. Credle advocated for the building of a large school, and by the time it was incorporated into the Durham city school district, it had expanded to ten classrooms. In 1929, the school was rebuilt in brick and an auditorium was added. This later building still stands and now serves as the West End Community Teen Center at 705 Kent Street.

A note on naming: Lyon's Park was the school's office name. At the time of its construction it was named the Old Cemetery School, denoting its location near Maplewood Cemetery.  The black community requested that the name be changed.