CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A piece of Charlotte's past is set to open this weekend at the Charlotte Museum of History.
The Siloam School, which has been standing since the 1920s, has been restored after an eight-year effort to raise $1.2 million for its preservation.
The Save Siloam School project was funded entirely by the community; it was relocated to the Charlotte Museum of History in September 2023. The school sat abandoned in the Mallard Creek area for many years and the museum intended to save it and restore it for educational purposes.
The Siloam School is one of Mecklenburg County’s oldest Black schoolhouses.
In the 1920s, Black communities in the rural South were investing in the education and futures of its young students during segregation by building what were known as Rosenwald Schools.
Terri White, president and CEO of the Charlotte Museum of History, told WCNC Charlotte those who walk in to see the newly restored school will be taken back in time.
"Our whole purpose is to take people back to its original purpose," White said. "It's 1924, it’s the school year, a brand new school building. What did it feel like to enter that place and come to learn? And this would have been a super exciting moment because it was the school of the Mallard Creek area."
A look inside the historic Siloam School
On Saturday, June 15, the museum will have a grand opening event for the restored Siloam School from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers and historians will be on-site to give tours.
The Charlotte Museum of History will also be open with free admission for all ages.
Contact Destiny Richards at drichards5@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.