LONG NECK, Del. - A former DuPont Friendship School will soon be razed for a new subdivision called Creekside.
Behind the trees and shrubs along Banks Road is an abandoned home.
DuPont Friendship School in Long Neck along Banks Road.
"It's been there the whole time that I've been growing up," said Long Neck local, Cindy Hudson-Carlisle.
At one point, the home was part of the DuPont Colored Schools Initiative.
"It has a real historical presence here, and that should be preserved," said local Steve Zee.
Pierre S. DuPont funded the construction of 90 schools across Delaware including many for African American and Native American students in the 1920s-1930s.
This initiative provided African American and Native American students a chance to have an education during a time when segregation was legal and the education of minorities was not a concern.
However, that slice of history is going away, set to be razed and replaced with a new subdivision called Creekside.
DuPont Friendship School in Long Neck along Banks Road.
It's a move Cindy Hudson-Carlisle who lives minutes away from the property isn't happy about.
"It's a shame that they just didn't keep it restored a little bit and keep it for a centerpiece for their new development that they're building, if they have to build it."
Her neighbor Steve Zee shares similar feelings
"It's too bad they're not being considerate of that."
Creekside, a soon to be new development along Banks Road will consist of 41 single-family condominiums and 75 townhomes developed by Rudder Road LLC.
CoastTV reached out to the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice and the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, neither were aware of plans to raze the school.
According to the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Minutes from January 22, Mr. David Hutt, Esq., of Morris James LLP spoke on behalf of Rudder Road LLC and shared there was an abandoned house on the corner of the property that once was part of the DuPont Colored Schools Initiative, named The Friendship School.
Mr. Hutt shared that the developer recognized the past history of the structure and reached out to the Nanticoke Indian Tribe Association to see if they would be interested in the dwelling being moved and they were not.
He further shared that it is proposed that the building will be removed and a place marker will be put on the property.
A screenshot from the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Meeting minutes from the January 22 meeting. This shows Rudder Road LLC's attorney, Mr. David Hutt, Esq., of Morris James LLP, explaining what took place what the developer became aware of the DuPont School.
The property and the development planned to take place there will be on the Sussex County Council's agenda on Tuesday, March 25 at 10:00 a.m.