The Athens-Limestone Community Association held its Trinity Summer Fun Fest Wednesday morning by welcoming children from Little Zion MB Church in Athens to the Pincham-Lincoln Center at the Trinity- Fort Henderson Complex for a fun day of learning the history of the grounds. The Trinity-Fort Henderson Complex is a Civil War site and until 1970, the location of the only all-Black junior high and high school in Limestone County.

The Trinity Summer Fun Fest was organized by the ALCA who strives to create a connection between the history and the future in Athens and Limestone County through quality programs and stimulating activities.

“There is so much to learn and so many great people that you would not even imagine that graduated from Trinity,” member Carolyn Williams said.

The youngsters began the day with a fun history lesson on the significance of the grounds and the role the United States Colored Troops played during the Civil War. USCTs made up 10 percent of the Union Army by the end of the Civil War. Fort Henderson was built by Black soldiers who dubbed the fort “The Jubilo,” which means freedom.

The garrison at Fort Henderson were made up of elements from the 106th, 110th, and 11th USCTs and consisted of many former slaves from Limestone County and Giles County, Tennessee.

After the war, many of the same former slaves who fought at Fort Henderson would become students at Trinity School thus completing the journey from slave, to soldier, to students.

“This is a great thing for the kids. We want our African American kids to know what we did for America and ourselves. We want them to know that in every war, there was a Black person fighting in it. This is so special because this is located in our city,” ALCA member David Malone said. “There were colored troops that build the fort, served here and were captured here. On this property, the Black man was in slavery, he fought for his freedom and, eventually, he was educated. All of that took place on this property. That’s a historic site in itself that those three things took place here.”

After learning about the fort, groups of children were asked to design their own forts with colorful puzzle blocks and to add soldiers, trees and other items to complete it. They then explained the idea behind their designs.

After a delicious lunch, the kids headed outside to learn more about the history of the complex and the amazing events that took place there. They were assisted by members of the ALCA and members of the Mayor’s Youth Commission.

Athens High School juniors Tyler Massey and Chloe Malone and 2023 Lindsay Lane Christian Academy graduate Samantha Norton volunteered at Wednesday’s event.

“It’s such a major part of history in general, and we get to have it in our small little town. It’s the first all-Black high school in Athens and the first Black kindergarten in Alabama. It’s just a big part of history, and it is so cool that we have that,” Norton said.

Malone grew up listening to relatives talk about their days at Trinity and all the wonderful times they had on campus.

She said, “I don’t think this really does it justice. I think you have to use your imagination. Just hearing the stories that my grandmother would talk about and how big the schools were and that it was actually two schools. To me, it is more than history. It is more like storytelling that actually really did happen.”

Williams explained that efforts by the ALCA to preserve the Trinity-Fort Henderson Complex have been done in phases with the first phase — to reopen Trinity School for the first time in 35 years as the Pincham-Lincoln Center.

“It was huge, but this is the part we were able to save. We thank God for this little part and we wish we could have saved more,” she said.

Phase two of the plan is to develop a Memorial Park on the grounds, which is already underway. It includes a walking trail and informative markers. The phase three plan is to renovate the Trinity band room into a Trinity history center.