The Penn School on St. Helena Island: Lessons From a School for the Formally Enslaved

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Abstract

The Penn School of St. Helena Island near Beaufort, South Carolina, was one of the first schools for formerly enslaved people. The school formally opened in September 1862, almost three years before the end of the American Civil War. Laura M. Towne and Ellen Murray were commissioned by the Port Royal Relief Committee of Philadelphia to travel to St. Helena Island to provide schooling to formerly enslaved people. Towne and Murray established a school program that provided academic and vocational training, medical care to students and their families, and food and clothing. The Penn School provided a structure for educating formerly enslaved people as preparation to enter American society as free people.

Authors

• Dan Barry Croom, University of Georgia

• Antoine Alston, North Carolina A&T State University

• James C. Anderson, University of Georgia

• Carson Deal, University of Georgia - Tifton Campus