Rosinton School to host 100-year celebration on Saturday

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ROSINTON, Alabama — Rosinton School will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a celebration from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the school, 19757 County Road 64, Robertsdale.

“We want the entire community to come out and celebrate with us,” said the school’s principal Andy Benton. “This school was built by the community and many of the activities in the community still revolve around the school We want this to be a celebration for the entire community.”

Rosinton School was first built in 1919 with two classrooms and a library with Lillian Kennedy as its first principal. It was the consolidation of three small schools: Antioch, Rosinton and Wilcox. It was the first in the county to be built on the “State Aid Plan.”

The first school had two teachers with an enrollment of 140 students in grades first through 10th grade. In 1921, a third teacher was added and in 1923, two more classrooms were built and a fourth teachers was added. At the same time, Holinger and Styx River schools were also consolidated.

Robertsdale High School was built in 1925, at which time the ninth and 10th grades were moved and Rosinton became a first through eighth grade facility.

Several more additions were built to the old school through the years before a new school was built a half-mile down the road in 1999.

“In the 1980s there was talk of consolidating Rosinton School and Elsanor School,” said lifelong Rosinton resident F.B. Ellison. “After Elsanor School burned and it was agreed that a new school would be built in Elsanor, the School Board wanted to move students from Rosinton into the new Elsanor School.”

A meeting was held at Rosinton School and the building was filled to capacity with concerned residents, asking to keep the school in Rosinton.

“Shortly thereafter, it was decided that we would keep our school,” Ellison said.

A lifelong resident of Rosinton, Ellison attended the school from 1938 to 1946. Today, his great-grandchildren attend the school, making five generations if you count the fact that his mother also attended.

“This school has been a part of the community my whole life,” Ellison said, recounting how his family boarded teachers in the early days of the school.

The new school was built on property donated by the Cooper family, said Ellison’s daughter, Dawn Hopper.

“There are so many families who have contributed to this school through the years,” she said. “It’s not just about our family, it’s about the entire community.”

Today, the school includes about 300 students. With the addition of Benton, who became the school’s principal following the retirement of Theresa Hardin in 2013, the school’s page on the Baldwin County Board of Education website lists 40 faculty and staff.

“We are still a small school and our No. 1 goal is to serve the Rosinton community,” he said.

Benton said anyone who has old photographs or stories about the early days of the school is welcome to attend.

“We are particularly looking for former principals and faculty, along with their families,” he said. There will also be free food and games, set up in the playground area behind the school.

If you have information, or would like more information, you can contact the school at 251-964-5410.