Honored by the Ward One Families Reunion Organization for their contributions to the historic marker ceremony were (seated, l-r) Agnes Harris Perez, Thomasina Davis Singleton, (standing) Elnora Robinson, Dorothy Davis, A.J. Lewis, Fannie P. Adams, Marie Langley Johnson, E.W. Cromartie, Tomeika Isaac Devine, Mayor Bob Coble, Dr. Belinda Gergel, Mary McAfee, Bertha Williams Stewart, Thelma W. Lewis, Dr. Bobby Donaldson, and Dr. Val Littlefield. At a heartwarming ceremony dedicating a historic marker at the site of old Saxon School September 20, Ms. Agnes Perez said it all, "We're still not done with Old Ward One. We are still here and need to be counted."

Ward One was one of the original five wards of Columbia drawn up for fire protection and voting. In the beginning it was the southern half of the city between Gervais and Heyward Streets. Later it was defined as the predominantly middle class black community between Five Points and the Congaree River. The children attended Saxon Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School. Perez is leader of the Ward One Families Reunion Organization that has been meeting every other year for 17 years and sponsored the new historic marker.

Standing with the portrait of Celia Dial Saxon are (l-r) Dr. Bobby Donaldson, Fannie Phelps Adams, Thelma W. Lewis, and Dr. Val Littlefield. Drs. Donaldson and Littlefield, history professors at USC, helped organize the event. The site where USC's Strom Thurmond Fitness Center now sits was the home of the Blossom Street School from 1898 to 1930. Mrs. M.J. Willoughby was the first principal and also the first employee of the Columbia City Schools to die in office. She was replaced by Miss Nan Crayton. In 1930, Crayton took her faculty and students to the new Hamrick School, and the Blossom Street School was converted to a school for black students and renamed for Celia D. Saxon.

Celia Dial Saxon was born in 1857 in Columbia, attended USC during Reconstruction, and spent 57 years as a teacher, the last 20 years at Booker T. Washington High School. Saxon served as treasurer of the Palmetto State Teachers' Association and was active in the Federation of Negro Women. She was also one of the founders of the Fairwold Industrial School for delinquent negro girls and the Wilkinson Orphanage for Negro Children. Saxon Homes, a city housing project, was named in her honor. Saxon died in 1935.

Left: Blossom Street School was built in 1898 and burned in 1915. This Spanish- American style building, built in 1916, was the first school in Columbia to have electric lights, a master clock, and an office telephone. Right: Blossom Street School became Saxon School in 1930. When Blossom Street was paved in 1938, the school lost its front yard and was remodeled. In 1951, the school burned and was rebuilt. It closed in 1968. Saxon School had 605 students and ten teachers in 1936. The first principal, Cresswell Madden, served until 1954. Stonewall Richburg was principal when the school was closed in 1968.

At the ceremony, Saxon's granddaughter, Mrs. Thelma W. Lewis said, "My grandmother read to me, played games with me, and taught me quilting. Swinging with her on the porch was sheer joy…She refused to buy one of the new electric irons and continued to use the old iron she heated in the fireplace. When gas came into the house, she heated her iron on the gas stove."

Fannie Phelps Adams, a student of Celia Dial Saxon at Booker T. Washington High, said Saxon was a "builder of human temples… We will never forget the time we spent in room 206. She had two main rules, Be On Time and Pay Attention… She gave of herself for over 57 years."

Adams graduated in 1934 and went to Allen University. When the students heard that Ms. Saxon had died, everyone was shocked. She remembers the students posting a card on the bulletin board that read, "She is not dead. She is just away."

Adams became a teacher, assistant principal, and acting principal at Booker T. Washington High. She remained at the school until it closed in 1974.

The historic marker was unveiled on Blossom Street by Agnes Perez and Robin Waites, executive director of the Historic Columbia Foundation.