The Watchman Industrial School and Camp, also known as the Watchman Institute, was founded in 1908 for black youths by Reverend William S. Holland in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. He based it on the educational theories of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

. In 1923, Holland moved the school to North Scituate when he acquired the property of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute. He closed the school in 1938 during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, when many private schools were unable to survive financially. The school had suffered fires in 1924 and 1926; newspapers reported that the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...

was suspected, as it had become active in the western part of the state. Holland and his wife operated the related

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

at the facility from 1938 until 1974.

History

The school was founded by Reverend William S. Holland, who was educated at

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

. Deeply interested in education for black youth, Holland founded the Watchman Industrial School at 140 Codding Street, in

in 1908. He hoped to duplicate the success of the educational program of

,Robert L. Smith, "Island of Faith in a Hostile Sea", ''The Providence Journal'' hode Island(23 February 1999):C01. as operating at the

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association aft ...

and the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

, historically black colleges. He trained

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youths in vocational trades in addition to academic subjects, hence the name "industrial school," which was a popular model at the time for lower-class youths. Educators believed that young people needed to be taught skills for the workplace. Holland often took custody of young persons in trouble with the authorities, in lieu of seeing them enter

's reform school or prison systems. The Watchman Industrial School was incorporated in Rhode Island by 1910. In 1917, the Watchman School was described in the report of the Phelps-Stokes Fund as "a small elementary school of very doubtful management. The industrial work is negligible." The Fund was managing a study of black education and surveyed private as well as public schools.

North Scituate

In 1920, Holland acquired the North Scituate campus of the former Pentecostal Collegiate Institute, which had moved to Wollaston in Quincy,

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, the year before. He moved the Watchman Institute there in 1923. The buildings were originally designed in 1839 for the

Smithville Seminary The Smithville Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution established in 1839 on what is now Institute Lane in Smithville-North Scituate, Rhode Island. Renamed the Lapham Institute in 1863, it closed in 1876. The site was then used as the campus ...

by Russell Warren, the leading

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architect in

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in the 19th century.Beth L. Savage and Carol D. Shull, ''African American Historic Places''
John Wiley and Sons (1995), p. 422 Holland advertised his school as "the ideal Home for Boys and Girls age 14 years and upwards" in the December 1923 edition of ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...

'', the magazine of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.& ...

(NAACP). The school had two suspicious fires in 1924 and 1926, and a former student reported seeing a cross being burned on the school lawn in the 1930s. Newspapers reported in the 1920s incidents that the local

chapter was suspected, as the KKK had become active in western Rhode Island after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, chiefly out of anti-immigration sentiment.ROBERT L. SMITH, "In the 1920s, the Klan ruled the countryside"
Special: ''The Rhode Island Century,'' ''Providence Journal'' (written in cooperation with the Rhode Island Historical Society), 26 April 1999 No one was ever arrested or charged in the incidents. After closing the school, Holland continued to operate the

until his death in 1958. After his death, his second wife and widow Viola Grant Holland (1901–1986) took over operation of the camp. She ran it until 1974, when it was forced to close for financial reasons. By 1969, the principal of the camp was Edward T. Duncan. In 1978 the complex was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The buildings were renovated in the 1970s and converted into apartments known as Scituate Commons.Rhode Island College Sesquicentennial
/ref> In 1985 the site was designated by Rhode Island as an African-American historic site.

William S. Holland

Early life and education

William S. Holland was born in October 1866 in Virginia to former slaves. He likely attended local black schools. He graduated from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, in 1897.

Marriage and family

After college, in 1899 Holland married Evalina (also known as Evelyn) Brown. She was born September 1875 in Virginia. They had one son, William F.B. Holland (born March 1900 in Rhode Island). After Evalina's death, Holland married Viola E. Holland (born 1901 in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

; died 14 October 1986 in Rhode Island).Viola E. Holland", ''Providence Journal'' (15 October 1986):C-10. She survived him and operated the summer camp for years.

Notes and references

{{reflist

External links

The Watchman Industrial School incorporation
from the Rhode Island State Archives 1938 disestablishments in Rhode Island Educational institutions established in 1908 Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Scituate, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Providence County, Rhode Island Defunct schools in Rhode Island

1908 establishments in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence County, Rhode Island