Most students walking around SCHS don’t realize the school was once segregated. In the early to mid-20th Century, the separate but equal ideology was adapted to educational systems and placed disadvantage on people of colors’ daily lives. During all of this time the Franklin School became a place where students found community, opportunity, and pride during a time when equality and education were not guaranteed. For almost a century, Franklin played a major role in the education of Black students in St. Charles.
“This school is rich in history, and we don’t appreciate it enough,” said Dr. Patricia Closson, first Black and first female principal in SCHS history and current assistant principal. Closson’s grandmother taught at Franklin while her grandfather also attended and taught at Franklin; her great grandfather was one of the first bus drivers for the Franklin school. Franklin alumni were an influential part of the community long after the history they made in their high school years. Many alumni participated in the groups like the Optimist Club amongst other Franklin-centered groups.
She grew up surrounded by Franklin alumni.
“Every first Saturday, the doorbell would start ringing and people would pile into my grandparents’ basement for the scholarship meetings,” she said. “I didn’t realize then how historic it was — I was just the little kid running around,” Closson said.
Public Schools in St. Charles were created in 1846, but only white children were counted as students. That changed slowly after the Civil War. By 1866 the district finally acknowledged its responsibility to educate Black children and paid Jacob Weston to teach them. A year later, 160 Black children were officially counted in the school’s population. Classes were held in churches and small neighboring schools, including the African church at 2nd and Pike and the Blueville School.
A major shift happened in 1870 when the school district bought a former Catholic school building from St. Louis University. This building became known as Franklin School. At first, Franklin served only part of the Black student population, while others attended Lincoln School.
In 1914, Lincoln was converted to a white school, and all Black students were moved to Franklin. From that point on, Franklin became the central school for Black education in the district.
Franklin expanded in 1921 to include two years of high school, thanks to state superintendent, Sam Baker. The first graduate of the new program was Clarence Shelton in 1922. More rooms were added, and in 1933 Franklin celebrated its first four-year high school graduating class.
Because Franklin was the only Black High School in the county, some students traveled as far as 60 to 80 miles everyday just to attend classes.
But while the law claimed “separate but equal,” in St. Charles’s Franklin, equality wasn’t reality. The school had no football field for years and couldn’t compete against white schools. Instead, Franklin participated in the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association, a league exclusively for Black schools.
“Imagine practicing in a nice gym, but still not being allowed to play the team whose court you’re using,” Closson said, “that was their reality.”
In 1938, a gym was added to the school which helped Franklin grow into a major basketball powerhouse. By the 1940s, the team had become one of the best in the state winning four state titles and bringing pride to the community.
One of the most influential figures in Franklin history was principal Melvin Washington. A former Franklin student himself, Washington had to ride a trolley 52 miles each day to attend Sumner High School because Franklin didn’t yet offer a twelfth grade.
After earning his degrees, Washington returned to St. Charles High in 1937 to teach. He became Franklin’s principal in 1943 and remained through the school’s final years before Integration. He later served as a teacher at St. Charles High School, and assistant principal, a Junior High School leader, an interim superintendent, and even a school board member. His dedication helped guide the district through his segregation and into integration. Washington passed away in February of 2005; many notes were left on his obituary recalling what a great man he was.
“Public Education and humanity has lost one of the true greats! As one of his former students, a fellow Optimist, and now a teacher at his beloved Jefferson Middle School, I will always carry the lessons Mr. Washington taught us in my heart. At the Franklin School Festivities last year, my son was privileged to be one of those who played for him and got to hear Mr. Washington’s memories, as did a few of my history students in attendance. He still connected with the kids. All the teens in attendance told me, “that dude was cool.” He truly defined cool. He was quick with both praise and discipline and you always wanted to do what was right, because you didn’t want to disappoint him. I still don’t. I’ll carry a piece of Mr. Washington into the classroom with me every day. Thanks to his family for sharing him with us,” said Tina Gittemeier Dalton
“Frances and Family– More than twenty years ago I was vice president of the St. Charles Optimists when Mel was president. We had board meetings in your basement. I was fascinated by the memorabilia of the difficult times that Mel lived through. I was also fascinated by his reminiscences, whether as a speaker at Optimists during Black History Month, or at the tribute to Franklin school. I had wanted so much to get some of these down on tape for the Library District’s oral history program, but I guess I was too late. I will have fond memories, however, of an interesting and nice man. It’s simplistic to say that with his passing they threw the mold away, but in this case that would not be an exaggeration,” said Carl R. Sandstedt
