NEWBERRY — Honoring the late educator and civic partner Dr. Ulysses S. Gallman, the city of Newberry wants to rename McSwain Park in his name due to the large impact Gallman left on the community.

Newberry City Council unanimously passed a resolution for the renaming at the Newberry City Council meeting Tuesday.

“No dialogue has occurred yet,” Mayor Foster Senn of improvements scheduled to be made to the park in 2014.

Located at 668 McSwain St. in Newberry across from Newberry County Adult Education, the park originally got its name from McSwain Street, which was established in the 1960s.

Dr. Ulysses S. Gallman, who died in 1971, served as an educator in the Newberry school system for 45 years. He was born in Newberry County and worked as a teacher, as well as county supervisor.

For a number of years, Gallman was also president of the National Jeanes Teachers Association (NJTA) and a member of the executive committee of the Palmetto Teachers Association.

The NJTA was named after Anna T. Jeanes, a philanthropist who sought to improve community and school conditions for rural African Americans.

These Jeanes Supervisors, as they were called, improved school buildings and grounds, organized clubs to develop African American communities, and sought to enrich local cultural and social life. During Gallman’s administration as a Jeanes Supervisor, the first Rosenwald Schools were constructed.

Rosenwald Schools were named in honor of Julius Rosenwald, then president of Sears and Roebuck, who provided the majority of funds for their construction. Between 1917 and 1932, over 5,000 schools were built in the rural South to educate African-American children, including Newberry County.

Council also discussed the idea of a historical plaque honoring Gallman within the park.