Mr. Charles B. Curtis

Beloit, Ala., was established in the late 1800s by Charles B. Curtis.Mr. Curtis graduated from Beloit College in 1870, along with many classmates who were veterans of the Civil War moved by the courage of former slaves.He joined his older brother Asher, of the class of 1853, in the South, working for the American Missionary Association.Soon frustrated by the group's failure to help emancipated slaves take control of their own destinies, he created a new Industrial Missionary Association and-in the late 1800s-bought 4,000 acres of land, 10 miles southwest of Selma and established a farming and educational community to prepare new citizens for self-sufficiency.He named it for his alma mater, Beloit.

The community created by Curtis flourished and its programs became models for vocational and industrial education in the South, often compared to the renowned Tuskeegee Normal and Industrial Institute headed by Booker T. Washington.
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The community's school, founded by Mr. Curtis and eventually renamed the Dallas County Training School, was an important educational institution for African-Americans in the region, producing teachers who migrated throughout the country.The school is now listed in the National Register of Historic Landmarks.

In the 1960s, both the community and the school fell victim to segregationist state authorities, who closed many rural schools in their efforts to frustrate integration.But the spirit of Charles B. Curtis was not lost.With the help of students from Beloit College and the University of Alabama, and the intrepid resolve of the people of Beloit, Ala., the Beloit Community Center re-emerged as the heart of community life, sustained by a nationally recognized recycling program and offering renewed hope to area residents.