As the city of Lawrenceville plans a major redevelopment of its downtown, it announces plans to preserve Gwinnett County’s first racially segregated school.

Former students of Hooper Renwick School served on the preservation committee that convinced the city to save the building.

It had been slated for demolition as the city prepares for a $200 million redevelopment of 32 acres bordered by Scenic Highway, Jackson Street, Clayton Street and the Lawrenceville Lawn.

The school was built in the 1940’s on Neal Boulevard after the original schoolhouse, located a few miles away, was wiped out by a tornado in 1924.

Black students from all over the county attended the school until desegregation, and the school was closed in 1968. It was used for various educational functions by Gwinnett County Schools over the years until the city of Lawrenceville purchased it a few years ago.

City Manager Chuck Warbington says it will be returned to its original architecture and be used for civic functions and a museum.

“It was a commitment the city is making to preserve that facility that was once built for exclusion and to make it a place of inclusion and collaboration for years to come,” he says.

A new building for the Lawrenceville library branch will also be built adjacent to it. The city plans to make more announcements in coming weeks including moving nearby public housing to new facilities a few blocks away.