- The former Madison County Training School is being revitalized.
- Local leaders aim to empower youth.
- Watch the video to learn about what the new space will offer.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Big dreams are taking shape at the old Madison County Training School. I’m Lentheus Chaney in Madison, talking with county leaders and neighbors about how this historic site is getting new life and new purpose.
The Madison County Recreation Association hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the acquisition and future restoration of 30 acres of the former Madison County Training School campus.
This revitalization project will include vocational training programs, daycare services for underserved families, and a cultural museum. Planners aim to honor the rich history of the community.
Madison County Commissioner Ronnie Moore chairs the restoration committee for the project. He says veteran neighbors and youth will benefit from programs at the new center.
“We live in a high-poverty county, a rural county. There’s not a whole lot of training, so to speak, going on right now. And one of the problems that we have here in our county is that when kids finish high school, they’re not furthering their education in college. They leave, and then that’s not good. So we’re gonna try and break that circle and try and keep more kids here at home, where they can learn skills to provide for their families,”
Moore said.The site has a rich and complex history dating back to the 1920s. A devastating fire in 1947 destroyed the building. In 1952, the school was rebuilt, continuing its legacy until 1967, when the last class graduated from Madison County Training School.
Mosley Mobley-Barfield graduated from the school in 1957. She now helps keep the property clean and says this new center is desperately needed.
“We need electricians, we need plumbers, we need carpenters. And these kids can learn a trade — and guess what — they can make good money,” Barfield said.
Barfield says trade school changed her son’s life, and she hopes other young neighbors will find the same success through programs at the new center.
In Madison, I’m Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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