Brewer Normal Institute

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Coordinates: 34°11′51″N 82°08′33″W / 34.1976°N 82.1425°W / 34.1976; -82.1425
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Brewer Normal Institute
Cotton picking on the school farm (c. 1909), Brewer Normal Institute
Location
Map
Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S.
Coordinates34°11′51″N 82°08′33″W / 34.1976°N 82.1425°W / 34.1976; -82.1425
Information
Former nameBrewer Institute,
Brewer School,
Brewer Normal School
Established1872
ClosedJune 1970
AffiliationAmerican Missionary Association

Brewer Normal Institute (1872–1970)[1] was an American segregated school for African-Americans in Greenwood, South Carolina. It was named after Reverend Josiah Brewer, a member of the first board of trustees for Brewer.[2] After desegregation in 1970, it was succeeded by a public magnet intermediate school named Brewer Middle School.[3] Originally named Brewer Institute, and later became Brewer School, and Brewer Normal School.

History[edit]

The American Missionary Association (AMA) opened Brewer Normal Institute in 1872 as a boarding school on East Cambridge Street.[4][5][6] The first brick building had been built in 1847 for the former Hodges Institute.[7] It was one of a series of schools established by the AMA during the Reconstruction era, after the American Civil War.[8]

During Brewer Normal Institute's first year, the school had only one teacher.[1][4] It was named for Rev. Josiah Brewer (1796–1872), a minister, and missionary, and member of the school's first board of trustees. Brewer's son, became a principal at the school. By 1897, the school had an enrollment of 280 students and seven teachers, and it was both a boarding and day school.[1][4]

The AMA, alongside the black and white community in Greenwood built the Brewer Hospital in hopes of fostering community integration and work towards opening a black public school.[8] The hospital was dedicated on May 24, 1924.[8] The following year in 1925, Brewer Normal Institute became a public school.[5][9][10]

From 1945 to 1969, Benjamin James Sanders Jr. served as the school’s principal; he had been initially hired a science teacher starting in 1928.[3][6]

Archives and legacy[edit]

The New York Public Library has a 1909 photograph in their archives of Brewer Normal Institute students picking cotton at the school farm.[11] In 2021, the Museum of Greenwoood was organizing an exhibit on the school's history.[12] The Emerald Triangle Museum & Rail Center exhibit included photographs and yearbook page from the school as well as images of the hospital.[6]

The South Carolina legislature passed a 2002 resolution declaring the school site a historic landmark.[13][14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Rucker, Alvin (June 4, 1970). "Closing of Brewer High School marks the end of an era". The Index-Journal. p. 13.
  2. ^ "Brewer Normal Institute". Greenwood Daily Journal. May 13, 1897. p. 27.
  3. ^ a b "History of our School". Brewer Middle School.
  4. ^ a b c Woody, Howard; Johnson, Thomas L. (2000). South Carolina Postcards. Vol. 3. Arcadia Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 0-7385-0293-6.
  5. ^ a b "Trend of Negro Education Gradually Upward". The Greenville News. April 20, 1930. p. 19.
  6. ^ a b c "Museum & Railroad Center: Brewer School & Hospital". Emerald Triangle.
  7. ^ Peyton, Brenda (August 16, 1988). "The Brewer tradition". The Index-Journal. p. 21.
  8. ^ a b c Richardson, Joe M.; Jones, Maxine D. (2009). Education for Liberation. The University of Alabama Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8173-5848-8.
  9. ^ "Greenwood takes over Brewer Normal School". The State. June 8, 1925. p. 9.
  10. ^ "Deed to Brewer Normal School has been received and recorded by authorities of local schools". The Index-Journal. December 22, 1935. p. 7.
  11. ^ "Cotton picking on school farm - Brewer Normal School, Greenwood, S.C." NYPL Digital Collections.
  12. ^ Donaghy, St Claire (November 6, 2021). "The Museum seeking items for Brewer exhibit". Index-Journal.
  13. ^ "Brewer Middle to move". The Index-Journal. April 16, 2002. pp. 1, 10a.
  14. ^ "H*5025, Session 114 (2001–2002)". South Carolina Legislature.

Further reading[edit]

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