Founded by the Freedmen's Bureau shortly after the Civil War to educate freedmen, women, and children, Schofield School began a long period of growth after Martha Schofield, a Quaker from Pennsylvania, came to Aiken in 1868 and became superintendent. The school soon expanded to a two-block site and combined academics with instruction in industrial, farming, and homemaking skills, while emphasizing character building. By 1898 it had educated more than 6000 students, and its graduates included teachers and department heads there as well as business owners, professionals, farmers, and community leaders. In 1940 alumnus Sanford P. Bradby became its first African-American superintendent. First a private school and later a public one, Schofield has taught children of all races and creeds since 1866, and the nearby bell tower once stood atop Carter Hall, built in 1882.

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Mike Stroud

Aiken, South Carolina · USA