This school was a place that provided sanctuary to black students who wanted to learn during a time when equal access to education was denied to them.@NewsLaw1 tells us more about how you can help preserve this important piece of history: https://t.co/phitu3bUdt pic.twitter.com/Pm5rMLbWjk

— Local 12/WKRC-TV (@Local12) January 4, 2019

Many are familiar with Caesar Creek State Park, but fewer probably know about a small piece of history in the middle of town: the “Harveysburg Free Black School” built by the Harvey family with the help of the church community.

Lucy McCarren is treasurer of the Harveysburg Community Historical Society.

“Dr. Jesse was a medical doctor and his wife, Elizabeth, was a school teacher and she was concerned that the black children in the community were not receiving an education because, at that time, there was a separation, of course, between the races,” McCarren said.

The Harveysburg Free Black School was the first free school for African-American children in Ohio.

The one-room building was constructed in 1831.

Harveysburg is a few miles south of Xenia, Ohio.