Established in 1987 through the cooperative efforts of John de la Howe School and Clemson University, with support from Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., and the South Carolina General Assembly, this program provided free enterprise experiences in a therapeutic setting to the young people of South Carolina. The building was erected in 1931, renovated by the Work Projects Administration in 1992, and associated with architect Drakeford Architects, general contractor Summerfield Associates, and a board of trustees that included F.E. Grier, Irby Schultz, Louise H. Mitchum Fickling, Hessie Morrah Graham, Thomas M. Stokes, Elizabeth Davis, Sylvester Williams III, Elizabeth M. Dillbeck, Westley D. McAllister, and Superintendent John C. Shifelt, Jr.