Thomas W. Williamson Sites

The Sumner Elementary School was built in 1936 with the support of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works. It was registered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. The school was designed by Kansas architect Thomas W. Williamson, and features Art Deco architectural elements and stone bas reliefs. The two-story brick structure was renovated multiple times since its construction. Many of the structure's Art Deco original details—such as lighting fixtures and woodwork—still exist. In the 1950s, the school became an important landmark in the struggle against segregation. Sumner Elementary is the former all-white school in which Linda Brown, the central figure in Brown vs Board of Education, wanted to enroll. The...