Henry Damon Davidson (December 16, 1869-1955), sometimes noted as Henry Damon,
was a school administrator and church leader in
Centreville, Alabama
Centreville is a city and the county seat of Bibb County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,800.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Centreville has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.52 ...
. He founded Bibb County Training School, known first as
Centerville Industrial Institute in 1900. He was sometimes referred to as
Bibb County's "black educator".
Davidson was born in Bibb County on December 16, 1869 to Damon and Adaline (née Woods) Davidson. Samuel Wilson Davidson had been their master. His home in Centreville,
Davidson–Smitherman House is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
As H. D. Davidson, he studied a term at
Selma University
Selma University is a private historically black Baptist Bible college in Selma, Alabama, U.S.. It is affiliated with the Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention.
History
The institution was founded in 1878 as the Alabama Baptist Normal an ...
and returned to his school in Centreville as a teacher. He then studied at the newly opened
Payne University, graduating in its first class May 18, 1893.
He attained a Bachelor's Degree from the
Tuskeegee Institute in 1934.
Davidson married Lula Julia Davis, a graduate of Tuskegee Institute, on February 16, 1899. She died June 21, 1908,
and he married Elizabeth M. Campbell McClellan on September 4, 1913. Davidson was active in Mt. Sinai
African Methodist Episcopal
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist ...
church. He was honored in 1945.
[ He was the author of ''Inching Along; or, the Life and Works of an Alabama Farm Boy, an Autobiography'', published in 1944.][
He was a delegate to the ]1900 Republican National Convention
The 1900 Republican National Convention was held June 19 to June 21 in the Exposition Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Exposition Auditorium was located south of the University of Pennsylvania, and the later Convention Hall was co ...
.
Legacy
Following a fire in the former school building, a new school was completed in 1966 and named in honor of Davidson. By 2008 it was known as Centreville Middle School. It includes the Henry Damon Davidson Library and Museum, which opened in 2017.Emily Howland
Emily Howland (November 20, 1827 – June 29, 1929) was a philanthropist, humanitarian, and educator. She supported the education of African-Americans. She was also a strong supporter of women's rights and the temperance movement. Howland p ...
, for whom the school's Howland Hall was named, survives.[https://digitalcollections.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/taxonomy/term/2802]
References
1869 births
1955 deaths
Tuskegee Institute alumni
People from Centreville, Alabama
Educators from Alabama
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Henry Damon