Levister Elementary School

Front: This school, built in 1953, was one of many African-American schools built by the equalization program of Gov. James F. Byrnes, intended to preserve school segregation by building new schools for black children. Students in grades 1-7, who had previously attended the Allen, Cool Springs, Pleasant Hill, and Union Chapel schools, began the 1953-54 school year here. The last graduating class was the Class of 1969. Reverse: This school became the Aynor Elementary School Annex in 1973; it closed in 1997. It was named for Nellie Burke Levister (1884-1968), the first Jeanes teacher in Horry County, who held that post from 1922 until 1958. The Jeanes Fund, established in 1908, was also called the Negro Rural School Fund. Its supervising teachers were consultants for the rural teachers and schools in their counties.