was what made Brown the landmark case in school desegregation. From the decision: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does. Changing ownership Monroe School was closed in 1975 due to declining enrollment. The school district utilized the school building as a warehouse and the grounds for parking buses and performing vehicle maintenance. Eventually the school and grounds were sold to private owners. Monroe Elementary remained in private ownership for more than fifteen years. Richard Appelhans and Richard L. Plush, Jr. intended to convert the school to offices or a private school, but they instead sold it in 1982. The new owner was the Church of the Nazarene which used the property as a community outreach program center and meeting place. The next owner, Mark A. Steuve, President of S/S Builders purchased the school from the church in 1988 for use as a warehouse. In 1990, Steuve announced his intention to auction the building off. The Brown Foundation began a crusade to save Monroe Elementary School from being sold. After a series of letter writing campaigns and meetings with local Congressional leadership and the Trust for Public Land the school was secured. The Trust for Public Land purchased the property in 1991 and it was added to the National Historic Landmark nomination for the Sumner Elementary School, listed in 1987. On October 26, 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed legislation establishing Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. The title was transferred to the National Park Service in December 1993. South Carolina sites Summerton High School was an all-white school that refused to admit Black students, who had to attend Scott’s Branch High School, which was built in 1951 to purportedly provide a comparable educational environment for African American students. The inequality between them was challenged in the Briggs v. Elliott case which was consolidated with Brown v. Board. Affiliated areas Robert Russa Moton School in Farmville, Virginia Howard High School in Wilmington, Delaware Claymont High School in Claymont, Delaware Hockessin Colored School #107 in Hockessin, Delaware John Philip Sousa Junior High School in Washington, D.C. References External links Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park (National Park Service) S.270 - Brown v. Board