Dorchester Academy

— Museum Of African American History —

In 1872, African Americans from Liberty County began another letter writing campaign; this time for a teach to replace Eliza Ann Ward. They requested that their next teacher be both a teacher and a minister. In the spring of 1874, the community finally received news that the American Missionary Association (AMA) had hired Floyd Snelson as their new teacher and minister for the Midway Congregational Church. By the end of the 1874 school term, two hundred and seventy pupils had attended. The school had grown to be so large that nearly sixty students were instructed outside the classroom. In September of 1877, Snelson was sent to Africa as a missionary by the AMA. When he returned, he resumed his position as minister but not as principal because the AMA had decided that the job now required a full-time employee.

In 1878, the old one-room schoolhouse was rebuilt as a two-room school. It opened as Dorchester Academy in 1879. Expansion rapidly continued and by 1896, the thirty-acre campus included the school building, teacher's home, girls' and boys' dormitories, dining hall, kitchen, laundry and industrial buildings. In 1896, Sarah Morrison and Frank C. Daniels were the first graduates of Dorchester Academy. They were also the first high school graduates in all of Liberty County.

Lower middle picture: Floyd Snelson circa 1880
Upper right picture: Principal J. Stevens and the 1907 Dorchester Academy Staff
Middle right picture: Boys Dormitory circa 1900
Lower right picture : Water Tanks built 1890-93 Held the water supply for the campuscirca 2004

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Show me all markers in:  Midway, GA  |  Liberty County  |  31320  |  Georgia  |  United States of America

Elizabeth Moore at Dorchester Academy 1925-1932
Dorchester Academy
Dorchester Academy Boy's Dormitory
We want a school, we need a Teacher 1870-1872
Midway Congregational Church 1872 - Present
The Story of the "Bell" at Dorchester Academy
Working Together at the Dorchester Cooperative Center 1930s-1940s
Liberty County Citizen's Council 1946 - 1953
Civil Liberties at Dorchester Cooperative Center 1940 - present
S.C.L.C. and the Voter Education Program 1962-1970

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