The Lincoln Normal School was a historic African American school in Marion, Alabama. Lincoln Normal was founded in 1867 by freed slaves as a school for African-American children.

In 1870, the school expanded to include teacher training and for a time became known as the Lincoln Normal University for Teachers. The program primarily focused on training African American high school graduates to become teachers.  In 1887 fire destroyed many of the campus buildings. As a result, the teacher training function was relocated to Montgomery where it became Alabama State University.

The school closed in 1970, when it was consolidated with the newly built and racially-integrated Marion High School. One of the few buildings remaining on the campus site is the Phillips Memorial Auditorium, now on the National Register of Historic Places and the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.  The Phillips Memorial Auditorium is located at Lincoln and Lee Streets in Marion, AL (GPS coordinates N32.625833,W87.329139)

Notable alumni of the Lincoln Normal School include Coretta Scott King, civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr, and Jean Childs, wife of civil rights activist Andrew Young.

Source: Wikipedia

3/12/10