South Carolina Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe

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South Carolina Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe (JDLH), formerly John de la Howe School (JDLHS), is a boarding high school in unincorporated McCormick County, South Carolina, [1] with a McCormick postal address. As of 2025 it is the sole boarding school for agricultural professions in the United States. [2]

Contents

History

The first version of the school, an agricultural educational facility, [2] was on property given to the South Carolina state government 1797. [3] Its namesake was John de la Howe, a doctor from France. His property was turned into a school, and as per his will, its initial student body consisted of enrolled children without parents and guardians as well as those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. [2] Howe's grave is on the property. It began operating as an educational institution in the 1830s. [3]

It became an independent agency of the South Carolina state government in 1918. [3]

In 1938 John de la Howe Hall was built. [3]

In the 1980s, the state turned it into a boarding school for students who had behavioral problems. This followed a trend of phasing out orphanages in the United States. [2]

In 2016 the school was no longer accredited. The school, in 2020, changed into being an agricultural high school. The school was no longer a disciplinary school partly because South Carolina school districts now had their own local alternative disciplinary programs. The initial enrollment of this new program was 33, due to issues from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Carolina. In the 2021-2022 school year, the enrollment was twice that of the previous school year. [2]

In 2024 the school was accredited again, and it had 81 students that year. In 2025 the school had more applicants than slots available. [2]

Campus

Its campus has 1,310 acres (530 ha) of area. [3] The property has around 12 dormitory facilities. [2]

It is about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of McCormick. [4]

Program

When it was an alternative education campus for students with discipline problems, prior to the campus' conversion into an agricultural high school, the L.S. Brice School was the on-campus school for students in grades 6-12, while John de la Howe sent students in grades 11-12 to McCormick High School. [5]

See also

References

  1. Geography Division (April 13, 2021). 2020 Census - Census Block Map: McCormick County, SC (PDF) (Map). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 2 (PDF p. 3/14). Retrieved 2025-10-12. Gettys Rd[...]Dela Howe Family Cir
    Compare to the full postal address: "192 Gettys Road McCormick, SC 29835"
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Laird, Skylar (2025-03-17). "5 years after reopening with a new mission, SC agriculture school is beyond capacity". South Carolina Daily Gazette . Retrieved 2025-10-12. [...]tucked off a rural road in McCormick County inside a national forest.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Mitchell, Anna B. (2020-12-28). "John de la Howe, SC's oldest public school, finds new life in agriculture education". The Post and Courier . Retrieved 2025-10-12.
  4. "Home". John de la Howe School. Archived from the original on 2005-03-08. Retrieved 2025-10-12.
  5. "Admissions". John de la Howe School. Archived from the original on 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2025-10-12.

Further reading