Penn School Historic District | |
Nearest city | St. Helena Island, South Carolina |
---|---|
Coordinates | 32°23′18″N80°34′31″W / 32.38830°N 80.57530°W |
Area | 47 acres (19 ha) |
Built | 1855 |
NRHP reference No. | 74001824 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | September 9, 1974 [1] |
Designated NHLD | December 2, 1974 [2] |
The Penn Center, formerly the Penn School, is an African-American cultural and educational center in the Corners Community on Saint Helena Island. Founded in 1862 by Quaker and Unitarian missionaries from Pennsylvania, it was the first school founded in the Southern United States specifically for the education of African-Americans. It provided critical educational facilities to Gullah slaves freed after plantation owners fled the island, and continues to fulfill an educational mission. Leigh Richmond Miner photographed students and activities at the school. [3]
The campus was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1974. [1] Darrah Hall and Brick Baptist Church on the campus were declared part of Reconstruction Era National Monument in January 2017. [4] In 2019, it became the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, along with Fort Sumter.
The Penn Center is located about one mile south of Frogmore on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The 47-acre (19 ha) campus is divided by the road, and includes a number of historic buildings related to the original function as a school, including classrooms, living spaces for students, teachers, and administrators. The oldest building on the campus is the 1855 Brick Church, built by the plantation owners of the island. [5]
At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Union Army forces quickly captured Saint Helena Island, prompting the local plantation owners to flee. The military administration of the island partitioned the old plantations, giving the land to the former slaves who lived there. The Penn School was established in 1862 by Laura Matilda Towne, an abolitionist missionary from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a school for the freed slaves, which was named for William Penn, Quaker champion for human liberty and founder of Pennsylvania. For many years the work was financed by Philadelphia Quaker abolitionists. Ellen Murray, a Quaker teacher, joined her in the work. Charlotte Forten, born into a wealthy free black family in Philadelphia, joined them as the school's first black teacher. The Brick Church was used as an early meeting, educational, and administrative space, and the school's first dedicated educational building was constructed in 1864, from prefabricated parts shipped from Pennsylvania. The school remained an active educational institution, under the leadership of Rossa Cooley and Grace House, for the island's population until 1948, when the state took over public education on the island. The institution then became the Penn Center, with directors including Howard Kester, Courtney Siceloff, John Gadson, Joe McDomick and Emory Campbell, and continued an educational mission for the island's preschoolers and adults, as well as maintaining a museum, cultural center, and conference meeting space. [2] [5] With the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Monument (which in spring 2019 was elevated as an National Historic Park), Brick Baptist Church is protected by a Park Service building easement and Darrah Hall, on the campus of the Penn Center, has been deeded over to the Park Service, as well as the adjacent parking area.
Penn Center played an important part in the civil rights movement, as one of the few places in the Jim Crow south where interracial groups could meet. Martin Luther King and his staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held retreats here in the 1960s. Gantt Cottage, on the Penn Campus, was where Dr. King stayed. A Retreat Center on the water was planned as a safer place for Dr. King to stay, but it was not completed before his death in 1968. It was, however, used by his associates, Rev. Andrew Young and Rev. James Bevel, during the Charleston Hospital Strike of 1969. Notable South Carolina figures in the civil rights movement, including Septima Clark, James McBride Dabbs, Esau Jenkins, and James Clyburn all had connections to Penn Center
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Benezet House, also known as Benezette House, is an historic dormitory located on the campus of Penn Center. It was erected in 1905 and named after Frenchman, Anthony Benezet, who stood for freedom in the mid- and late-1870's. The female teachers and female boarding students of Penn School were housed here. The mandatory nightly chapel service held in the ground floor lobby was, however, open to both male and female students. This location was the focal point of home economics training for female students, each of whom were required to reside in Benezet before they graduated. Today, Benezet House is used to house overnight guests to Penn Center.
The Retreat House and Dock of Penn Center, formerly known as Penn School, was built in 1968, the year Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. Plans were for him to have his meetings there rather than the smaller Gantt Cottage he had been staying at. It faces a body of water, a cove of Capers Creek, which is a place for meditation and relaxation for Penn Center's guests. The Retreat House replaced the Palmetto Cottage built in 1920 which was formerly located at this site but was destroyed by fire in the 1950’s. The Retreat House and Dock was however used by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s associates during the Charleston Hospital Strike of 1969.
The original Gantt Cottage located on the campus of Penn School, now known as Penn Center, was named after the ex-enslaved Hastings Gantt, who donated the original tract of land for Penn School to Laura Towne. It was destroyed by fire around 1940. The current house, built by students, is a replacement. Mr. Gantt was a businessman and politician. He served in the South Carolina Legislature as a representative from Beaufort during the Reconstruction period. During the 1960’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed at Gantt. Penn Center was one of the few places in the south where bi-racial groups could meet. Planning for the great Civil Rights “March on Washington” took place here as well as the writing of the "I Have a Dream" speech.
Jordan, Francis Harold (1991). Across the bridge: Penn School and Penn Center (Thesis). Colleges of Education, University of South Carolina. UMI Number: 9214946.