The Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Normal and Industrial Institute for Colored Students was established here in 1880 by the Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Association. The school was established, organized, funded and staffed by African Americans. The institute offered vocational classes in subjects such as carpentry and home economics. A donated printing press led to the development of a journalism program, allowing students to produce all printed materials for the Institute and the Association's newspaper, The Pilgrim Traveler. After serving the black community for over fifty years, the Institute closed in May 1936 when Effingham County built a public training school for African Americans. The Institute building was later demolished.