Schofield Normal and Industrial School

Schofield Normal and Industrial School was a school for African Americans in Aiken, South Carolina.[1] It is now a public middle school.

Wharton Hall at Schofield Normal and Industrial School in 1909

The school was founded by the Freedmen's Bureau in 1866.[2] Martha Schofield, a Quaker from Pennsylvania became its superintendent. It became a boarding school and taught trades and trained teachers. It was merged into the public school system in 1952.[3] It was integrated in the 1960s and became a middle school.[4]

Isaac Fisher taught at the school.[5] Nick Aaron Ford taught at the school.

Martha Schofield was also a political activist.[6] She wrote to her sister on school stationery.[7]

Sanford P. Brady, an alumnus of the school, became its first African American superintendent. A belltower from the school that topped its Carter Hall is extant. A historical marker commemorates the school's history.[2] Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College has a collection of papers from the school.[3] The school is part of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network.[8]

Schofield Middle School

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Schofield Middle School is a public school in Aiken. It is on Sumter Street.[9] As of 2021, more than half the student body is African American.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Schofield Normal and Industrial School (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.
  2. ^ a b "Schofield School".
  3. ^ a b "Collection: Schofield Normal and Industrial School (Aiken, S.C.) Records | Archives & Manuscripts". archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu.
  4. ^ https://polisci.usca.edu/aasc/schofeld.htm
  5. ^ "Encyclopedia of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
  6. ^ Smedley, Katherine (1984). "Martha Schofield and the Rights of Women". The South Carolina Historical Magazine. 85 (3): 195–210. JSTOR 27567856 – via JSTOR.
  7. ^ "Martha Schofield letter to her sister | TriCollege Libraries Digital Collections". digitalcollections.tricolib.brynmawr.edu.
  8. ^ Hill, Stephanie. "Aiken's Schofield Normal and Industrial School joins Reconstruction Era National Historic Network". Post and Courier.
  9. ^ Young, Patrick (July 27, 2022). "The Schofield Normal and Industrial School in Aiken, South Carolina Added to Reconstruction Era National Historic Network".
  10. ^ https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/south-carolina/schofield-middle-268096#:~:text=Schofield%20Middle%202021%20Rankings,their%20students%20for%20high%20school


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