Formal education of blacks started with the Freedmen's Bureau in Liberty County. The Homestead School was continued with the aid of the American Missionary Association (AMA) and support of Reconstruction legislator William A. Golding. The AMA started with one acre of land and 77 students in 1870. In 1874, the Reverend Floyd Snelson succeeded Golding at the school. The AMA and Snelson built a new school and named it Dorchester Academy in honor of its Puritan lineage. In 1890, Dorchester Academy started a boarding school. By 1917, the school had eight frame buildings on 103 acres, 300 students, and become a fully accredited high school.

The academic program ceased in 1940, with the construction of a consolidated public school for black youth at Riceboro. All academic equipment plus $8,000 were transferrred toward that consolidation. Since, the facilities have served the community under the title Dorchester Cooperative Center, Inc. AMA continues financial support.

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

Dorchester Academy Boy's Dormitory
We want a school, we need a Teacher 1870-1872
The Growth Of Dorchester Academy 1874 - 1930s
Midway Congregational Church 1872 - Present
Elizabeth Moore at Dorchester Academy 1925-1932
The Story of the "Bell" at Dorchester Academy
Working Together at the Dorchester Cooperative Center 1930s-1940s
Civil Liberties at Dorchester Cooperative Center 1940 - present
S.C.L.C. and the Voter Education Program 1962-1970
Liberty County Citizen's Council 1946 - 1953

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