Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School

The Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural School (DIAS) was a school for African American students Downingtown, Pennsylvania in Chester County, Pennsylvania, from 1905 until 1993. Its motto was "self help through self work". It was located in what is now East Brandywine Township.

History
The school was founded by John S. Trower and William Abraham Creditt. Both were well-known, successful African Americans from Philadelphia. Tower was a local businessman and Creditt was pastor of the city's first African Baptist church.

The school's purpose was to provide vocational training. By 1907, an illustrated report on the school was published showings the school's chapel, barn, dining room, and sewing room. The school was included in Philadelphia's colored directory in 1910.

The school was aimed at educating African-American youth that struggled with schooling. In July 1912 the school announced that it would be sending fifteen graduates to Lincoln University that fall.

James N. H. Waring Jr. (1890–1973), the son of a prominent physician, served as the school's principal in the 1930s. Mortelia Womack, who worked as a secretary for W. E. B. Du Bois, applied for a job in the school in 1931 and Du Bois sent the school's principal, J. H. N. Waring, Jr., a reference for her.

Howard D. Queen served in the mathematics department after his military career.

In 1980, a thirty-six-page publication authored by Clay Griffin about the school was published.

Legacy
Delaware County Community College's Downingtown campus is on the site of the former school.

Notable alumni include Cab Calloway famous for, among other things, "Minnie the Moocher, or The Hi-De-Ho song."