1862
First school for freed slaves established on St. Helena Island, South Carolina; classes held at The Brick Church; 80 pupils enrolled.
1864
School buys land from Hasting Gantt, a freedman.
1865
New three-room building becomes first school in South created for the instruction of former slaves; officially named Penn School. (Thirteenth Amendment added to the U.S. Constitution; slavery legally abolished.)
1865-1877
School supported by private charity comprised of primarily Quaker abolitionists in Philadelphia.
1867
African Americans are the majority of registered voters in South Carolina; won election as lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer; controlled majority of seats in lower house. Penn Center received tax money for books and school operations.
1877
Beaufort County school board (appointed, not elected) forbade St. Helena residents to raise money or levy school tax for local schools. Penn School solely dependent on private donations.
1877-1901
Penn School financially burdened.
1901-1917
Hampton Institute in Virginia asked to sponsor Penn School; Center’s new leadership modeled education on Hampton Tuskegee model.
1927
Completion of bridge from town of Beaufort to Lady’s Island, gave St. Helena access to the mainland.
1931
Great Depression created further financial hardship; Enrollment at Penn school drops from 600 to 262.
1948
Penn School ceased to function as a school; changed to community agency; renamed Penn Community Services, Inc.
1950
Penn School becomes Penn Center: trained midwives, opened first daycare center for African Americans, started Teen Canteen for local teenagers, developed community health care clinic. Hired first African American as professional manager at Penn Center—Thomas Barnwell.
1960s
Sponsored and hosted interracial conferences on Civil Rights; Penn Center is a retreat site for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and human rights activists.
1970s
Penn Center used for church and organizational retreats; training center for Peace Corps' overseas agricultural workers, educational site for study of black history and culture.
1980s
Penn Center established Land Use and Environmental Education (LUEE) Program to promote sustainability and economic development; creation of Penn School for Preservation.
1988
Sierra Leone’s President Joseph Momoh visits Penn Center. The following year a group from the Gullah Community travelled to Sierra Leone for a reunion with ancestral families.
1990
Penn Center placed on “most endangered historic places” list by National Trust for Historic Preservation; mission focused on promoting and preserving Gullah cultural assets.
2006
Congress created The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor along the coastal areas from Florida to North Carolina.
Help us write our future!
Please consider helping to support our museum and public educational programs by making a donation or volunteering your time.
For additional historical information, please see the Welcome, Mission, and Research pages.