Penn Center (Saint Helena Island, South Carolina) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Penn School Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District

Brick Baptist Church
Location in South Carolina Show map of South Carolina Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Nearest city	St. Helena Island, South Carolina
Area	47 acres (19 ha)
Built	1855
NRHP reference No.	74001824
Added to NRHP	September 9, 1974
Designated NHLD	December 2, 1974

The Penn Center, once known as the Penn School, is a special place on Saint Helena Island in South Carolina. It's a cultural and educational center for African Americans. It was started way back in 1862 by missionaries from Pennsylvania. This was the very first school in the Southern United States made just for African Americans. It helped teach formerly enslaved people, especially the Gullah people, after plantation owners left the island during the Civil War. Today, it still teaches and celebrates their history and culture.

In 1974, the campus was named a National Historic Landmark District. Later, in 2017, two of its buildings, Darrah Hall and Brick Baptist Church, became part of the Reconstruction Era National Monument. By 2019, this monument grew into the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, which also includes Fort Sumter.

A Special School's Story
Penn Center and Civil Rights
Buildings at Penn Center
Gallery
See also

A Special School's Story

The Penn Center is located on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Its campus covers about 47 acres. This area has many old buildings that were part of the original school. These include classrooms and places where students, teachers, and leaders lived. The oldest building is the Brick Church, built in 1855 by the island's plantation owners.

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Union Army soldiers quickly took control of Saint Helena Island. This caused the plantation owners to leave. The military then divided the old plantations. They gave the land to the formerly enslaved people who lived there.

The Penn School was started in 1862 by Laura Matilda Towne. She was an abolitionist, meaning she was against slavery. She came from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school was named after William Penn, who was a Quaker and a champion for human freedom. For many years, Quakers from Philadelphia helped pay for the school. Ellen Murray, another Quaker teacher, joined Laura Towne. Charlotte Forten, who was born into a free Black family in Philadelphia, became the school's first Black teacher.

The Brick Church was used for early classes and meetings. The school's first building just for teaching was built in 1864. Its parts were made in Pennsylvania and shipped to the island. The Penn School kept teaching the island's people until 1948. At that time, the state took over public education on the island.

After 1948, the institution became the Penn Center. It continued its mission to educate. It helped preschoolers and adults. It also created a museum, a cultural center, and a place for meetings. Today, the Brick Baptist Church and Darrah Hall are protected as part of the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.

Penn Center and Civil Rights

The Penn Center played a very important role in the Civil Rights Movement. It was one of the few places in the "Jim Crow" South where Black and white people could meet together. In the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. and his team from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held special meetings here. Dr. King often stayed at Gantt Cottage on the Penn Campus. A new Retreat Center was planned by the water. It was meant to be a safer place for Dr. King to stay. However, it was not finished before he passed away in 1968. Still, his friends like Rev. Andrew Young and Rev. James Bevel used it during the Charleston Hospital Strike in 1969.

Many important South Carolina civil rights leaders had connections to Penn Center. These include Septima Clark, James McBride Dabbs, Esau Jenkins, and James Clyburn.

Buildings at Penn Center

The Penn Center campus has many historic buildings. Each one tells a part of the school's long history.

Brick Baptist Church (1855) (32°23′23″N 80°34′34″W / 32.389754917802804°N 80.57606867793497°W (Brick Baptist Church)): This church was built before the school. It was used for early classes and meetings when Penn School first started.
Penn Center Bell Tower (1865): This tower once held a brass bell. The bell was like the Liberty Bell and had the words "Proclaim Liberty" on it. You can see the bell today at Penn Center's museum.
Darrah Hall (1882): This is the oldest building on the Penn Center campus. It has been a central meeting place for the community for over a hundred years.
Alden Sales House (1900): Students built this house. It was used as a thrift shop and a place for milk.
Hampton House (Penn Center) (1904) (32°23′19″N 80°34′33″W / 32.388710°N 80.575835°W / 32.388710; -80.575835 (Hampton House)): This building provided housing for teachers and guests who visited the school.
Benezet House (1905) (32°23′18″N 80°34′31″W / 32.388332°N 80.575288°W / 32.388332; -80.575288 (Benezet House)): This house was where female teachers and students lived. It was also a place where students learned about home economics.
Cedar Cottage (1907): This cottage was built to house single female teachers and nurses. It is named after the many cedar trees on St. Helena Island.
Jasmine Cottage (1911): Penn's carpentry students built this cottage to house teachers.
Cope Industrial Shop (1912) (32°23′16″N 80°34′36″W / 32.387897°N 80.576541°W / 32.387897; -80.576541 (York W. Bailey Museum)): This building was where students learned many trades. These included making harnesses, fixing wheels, blacksmithing, basket weaving, carpentry, and cobbling (shoe repair). Today, it is the York W. Bailey Museum.
Emory S. Campbell Dining Hall (1917) (32°23′19″N 80°34′31″W / 32.388493°N 80.575187°W / 32.388493; -80.575187 (Emory S. Campbell Dining Hall)): This building was first used as a laundry. Now, it's a dining hall that can serve many people. It offers local Gullah-style foods to guests.
Green Learning Center Rosenwald School (1920s): This learning center is used for a daycare program called PACE.
Pine Grove Cottage (1921): Students built this cottage to house the school's superintendent. Today, guests of Penn Center stay here.
Lathers Memorial Dormitory (1922): This building was a memorial to Agnes Lathers, an early teacher. It was a dormitory for male students and teachers. Now, it holds administrative offices.
Frissell Community House (1925) (32°23′22″N 80°34′36″W / 32.389411°N 80.576675°W / 32.389411; -80.576675 (Frissell Community House)): Built where the first schoolhouse stood, Frissell has always been a community gathering place. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference used it for training meetings.
Butler Building (Penn Center) (1931): Penn students built this. It was used for home economics, club meetings, exhibits, and the band room.
Arnett House (1937): This house was used for students and teachers from South Carolina State University. Today, it houses conference guests.
The Potato House (1938): This building was used to store sweet potatoes for curing. Now, it's used for storing farm equipment.
Gantt Cottage (1940): Penn students built this cottage. In the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed here when he visited Penn Center for meetings. He even worked on his famous "I Have A Dream" speech here.
Orchard Cottage (1942): This cottage was built to be a teacher's home.
The Cannery (Penn Center) (1946): This building was first a dairy barn. Later, it was used for canning tomatoes and processing Conch.
Retreat House and Dock (1968): This house was built in the year Martin Luther King, Jr. passed away. It was planned as a more peaceful place for his meetings than the smaller Gantt Cottage.