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Samuel L. Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Samuel L. Smith was a school administrator and practical architect involved in school design for Rosenwald Schools.

Biography

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He had was born in Humphreys County, Tennessee, and was educated in a one-room schoolhouse. He eventually graduated from Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and earned a master's degree in rural school education from George Peabody College for Teachers. Smith also studied at the University of Chicago and at Harvard.[1]

Smith was a student of health education professor Fletcher B. Dresslar (1858–1930) who conducted an important initial survey for Rosenwald Schools.[2] He was a rural school agent in Tennessee of the Rosenwald School program,[3] then General Field Agent.

He created a series of school plans, for one-teacher, one-room and other sized schools, in various orientations suited for the weather and light of rural schools in the U.S. south. These designs were issued in a booklet entitled Community School Plans, which also included contractor specifications and other guidance.

Works

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Numerous works associated with him survive and are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Works credited to him include (with variants in attribution as indicated in National Register listing):

References

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  1. ^ Rosenwald MPS document, p.30
  2. ^ "Dresslar, Fletcher".
  3. ^ Rosenwald MPS document, p.20