James Haskell Hope


James Haskell Hope was the longest-serving Superintendent of Education in the state of South Carolina, from 1922 until 1945.
Friends called him "Bud." In 1925, Hope and his siblings J.J. Hope and Mary Hope Hipp paid for and donated of land to the Rosenwald Fund. This became the Hope Rosenwald School. James Hope is known for his defending of the rights of African Americans before and during his term in office.

Hope Station

James Haskell Hope was born in Hope Station, the tract of land that Hope's German ancestor had built and maintained. It was called Hope Station because of the local train station called by the same name. Hope Station began as a stopping point on the old Greenville and Columbia Railroad, built around 1850. The line also included stops in Peak, Pomaria, Prosperity, Newberry and Silverstreet.

Colleges and clubs

Hope was elected to be the South Carolina Superintendent of Education in 1922. During Hope's reign, African-Americans were awarded high school diplomas for the very first time. Also, a teacher retirement plan was created, an attendance law was passed, and the 12th grade was introduced in South Carolina. James Haskell Hope was a member of the Democratic Party.