The African American Experience in Louisiana

In order to be eligible for the National Register in association with this context, college or
university properties must have played a demonstrably notable role in the education of African
Americans. Like all other kinds of properties, they must retain an easily recognizable historic
appearance. Location and setting are almost essential aspects of integrity for this property type,
but in outstanding cases, a loss of location or setting still may be acceptable in regards to
potential National Register eligibility.
3. Homes of Educators
Typically school buildings best represent
significant contributions to education, but in some
cases it is the home of an educator that is most
associated with a particular aspect of educational
history. There are two such residences listed on the
National Register relevant to this context. In
addition to the above described colleges and
universities, there is another significant historic
institute of higher learning, Grambling State
University, which is located in Lincoln Parish.
Although the university has its origins at the
beginning of the twentieth century, its present
campus is modern. Grambling’s founder was
Charles P. Adams and it is his home that is the
historic building most closely associated with him
and his achievements as the founder of Grambling
(Figure 73).
Figure 73: Charles P. Adams House, Grambling,
Lincoln Parish.
The Jeanes program played a very important role
in the education of African Americans. It
provided for supervisors who taught and advised
teachers at many schools within a jurisdiction and
served various other supportive functions for
schools. Because such supervisors, or teachers as
they were also called, worked with many schools,
they were not wholly connected with one.
Therefore, the property most associated with
Jeanes supervisor, Emma Grayson, is her parents’
house which was her permanent address while she traveled for her career (Figure 74).
Houses of educators must be the only or most representative properties associated with the
significant individual in order to be potentially eligible for the National Register. They must
display an appearance that closely resembles that of the years during which the individual
resided in the home and was involved with the important achievements for which they gained
significance. The importance of location and setting as aspects of integrity for these types of
properties depends upon the work of the individual it represents and how closely tied it was to
the community. For example in the cases of the two National Register properties listed above,
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Figure 74: Emma Grayson House, Monroe, Ouachita
Parish.