Kansas City Missouri 18th & Vine Attucks School

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In 1867, a census revealed there were 250 black school-aged children living in Kansas City. Over the course of twenty-six years, multiple schools were built to house and educate African American children. In 1893, Attucks School was founded and rented a building for its operation. The School was named after Crispus Attucks, an African American who was killed during the Boston Massacre. As was the case with Lincoln High School, the Attucks School kept growing as the population of African Americans grew in Kansas City, making the original building inadequate. After moving and outgrowing another building, the school board authorized the construction of a new two-story building in 1904. The Attucks School was the oldest continually occupied school built for black students in Kansas City.

The new Attucks School was completed in 1905 at a cost of $36,811. The Kansas City architect Charles A. Smith, who served as the school board's architect for 40 years, designed the building in the Colonial Revival and Dutch Colonial styles. When the school opened, J. D. Bowser was the principal and there were several hundred students, mostly coming from the Paseo district around 18th and Vine. By 1911, the school had grown to 560 students and 13 teachers, and the value of the property had risen to $81,000.

Over the next ten years, the black population continued to increase in the 18th and Vine area. This created an influx of students that attended Attucks and also a need for more educational space. In 1922, with overcrowding becoming such a problem, the school board approved the construction of a two-story wing connected to the east facade of the building. Designed once again by Charles A. Smith, the addition included a gymnasium, auditorium, and more classrooms on both of its floors.

Attucks School became one of the main grade schools for black students over the next several decades. By 1950, the school had climbed to almost 1,000 students. After the integration of public schools by the 1960s, the Attucks School was used as a grade school for all childern in the Kansas City area until its closed in 2007, due to low enrollment. On September 9, 1991, the school was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.