Penn School

Penn School is a South Carolina historical marker in Beaufort County, dedicated 1981.

Beaufort County · dedicated 1981 · In front of Cope Administration Building at Penn Center, Land's End Rd./Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 7-45), St. Helena Island

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Front: After Union occupation of the sea islands in 1861, two northerners, Laura Towne and Ellen Murray, came to help the freed blacks of this area, establishing Penn School here in 1862. The earliest known black teacher was Charlotte Forten, who traveled all the way from Massachusetts to help her people. Reverse: One of the first schools for blacks in the South, Penn School, opened in 1862, was reorganized as Penn Normal, Industrial and Agricultural School in 1901. As a result of this change, incorporating principles of education found at both Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes, Penn became an international model. Its program was removed to the Beaufort County school system in 1948.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: South Carolina Historical Marker Program, SC Department of Archives and History
Sponsored by Penn Club and S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism

Penn School

More markers nearby