News
January 30, 2024
The Post And Courier: Mount Pleasant’s Last Black Schoolhouse Seeks New Life As Museum
By Anna Sharpe
An aging two-room structure rests in the Snowden Community in Mount Pleasant. The historic Long Point Schoolhouse is one of the last standing African American schoolhouses in the Lowcountry, and, if things go according to plan, will open its door as a museum as soon as the end of the year.
The African American Settlement Community Historic Commission has spent the last two years restoring the Long Point Schoolhouse, transforming the once-decaying structure into a museum and cultural center, with a goal to welcome visitors by the end of 2024.
The building is one of the few Black schoolhouses in the Lowcountry, where African American children received their education segregated from White children.
While that period of American history can seem far off, the Long Point Schoolhouse serves as a reminder that it really wasn’t. Alumni from the school, which closed its doors in the 1950s when Jennie Moore Elementary School was built, are not hard to find.
Many students of the school still live and work in the Snowden Community. Several of the alumni have returned to the schoolhouse to donate their time and energy to restore it to its former state. In fact, the general contractors leading the restoration attended Long Point Elementary School themselves.
Joe and Henry Palmer operate a general contracting and masonry company in Mount Pleasant. Henry Palmer spent first through sixth grade at Long Point Elementary School, while Joe Palmer attended in first grade. Henry Palmer recalled many students worked on farms while also attending school in the Snowden Community, so classes were sometimes adjusted to begin early in the day.
“It was kind of interesting at that time, kids had to go to go school at certain times because they ... had to go to the farm and work, picking beans and so forth,” Henry Palmer said. “They started school early so you can be able to attend school more often.”
Joe Palmer, who also serves on the board of the AASCHC, said the museum will provide visitors a hyperlocal insight into the history of Mount Pleasant’s Black communities and their experiences, and the struggles Black children faced while trying to get an education.
“The history of this area is intricately tied up with our experience as my brother said earlier — life was not easy because we had to work on farms. And the history of the farm is the history of our community, as part of that, because we provided the labor for the farm,” Joe Palmer said.
Under construction
The Palmers have installed new exterior siding, windows and a brick foundation. Next on the list of renovations is the roof. As far as old buildings go, the Long Point Schoolhouse has successfully stood the test of time, save for a roof that’s in disrepair. Part of the dilapidated roof clangs loudly as it catches a gust of wind.
African American Settlement Community Historic Commission President John Wright, standing inside the shabby walls, said he can’t wait until the day the roof is fixed. For now, a periodic clank of metal punctuates Wright’s words. He eagerly describes the future of the Long Point Schoolhouse as a museum.
In October 2021, the school was carefully loaded onto the bed of a moving truck and transported from its original location off Seacoast Parkway in a short, but precarious, trek into the Snowden Community. The schoolhouse can now be found on Snowden Road, on land owned by the AASCHC, and in much better shape.
The goal for the renovation of the schoolhouse was to keep as much of the original building materials — some of which date back to the 19th century — in the schoolhouse as possible. A couple of windows original to the building, glass warped with time, remain at the back of the schoolhouse.
“We did our very best to try to keep the historic integrity as much as possible,” Wright said.
A community effort
Restoring the schoolhouse has been a community undertaking, Wright said. Volunteers from local civic groups have donated their time and energy to spruce up the school during community workdays.
Donations from local businesses, organizations and individuals have kept the project afloat. Progress on the Long Point Schoolhouse Museum benefited greatly from a collaboration with Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens. Boone Hall is a major sponsor of the project, donating both money and manpower to the museum. Jim Westerhold, general manager at Boone Hall, called the partnership a “natural fit.”
“It just seemed to be a natural fit with the Snowden Community and for Boone Hall. We’re both just trying to be good partners in this community, and so it seemed to be just a really good fit for Boone Hall to partner up with the restoration of the schoolhouse,” Westerhold said.
In celebration of Black History Month, the AASCHC and Boone Hall are hosting a series of events beginning Feb. 1.
“Celebrating Descendants: Where are we now?” will include a speaker series, conversation panels and monthlong displays in The Gin House at Boone Hall. The events are included with admission to Boone Hall Plantation. A portion of the proceeds will help support the Long Point Schoolhouse project.
“All in all, the goal around that is to really make our ancestors proud and to give future generations hope and a vision to see that we can progress forward,” Wright said.
Wright said he’d like to see the schoolhouse eventually become an extension of Boone Hall where visitors of the plantation are directed to the schoolhouse to learn more about the settlement communities and their history, as well as serving as its own standalone museum.
Construction on the schoolhouse will ramp up again in March, Wright said. The roof is a top priority, followed by minor improvements to the interior. Wright, the Palmers and the AASCHC are eager to have the museum come to fruition. In an area saturated with museums and historic tours, the Long Point Schoolhouse museum will be unique to the Snowden Community and Mount Pleasant.
“We’ll have a museum that can tell our story, our experiences, our difficulties, and you share some of our thoughts about the history of not only our school, but also the the other settlement communities and also share the history of our experience in the Lowcountry,” Joe Palmer said.
January 18, 2024
Boone Hall Plantation Black History Month Commercials Released
The commercials for the Black History Month program at Boone Hall Plantation have been released. You may watch both clips below:
January 3, 2024
Official Press Release
1578 Snowden Rd.Mt.Pleasant,SC 29464
January 5,2024
5:00PM
Join The African American Historic Settlement Commission 2 years since the historic move of the 1904 LongPoint schoolhouse and the future public use Museum and Cultural Education Center.
AASC will officially announce its 1st Black History month collaboration with Boone Hall in the newly renovated Gin House .
Celebrating the Descendants- Where are we Now a month long display and activities on Boone Hall Plantation.
May 15, 2023
We always need a little help from our friends.
This past month we had a few cadets from the Citadel help us with clean up at the Long Point Schoolhouse.
Thank you to the Citadel cadets that came out for taking part in our clean up and preservation effort!
The African American Settlement Historic Commission. takes pride in community partnerships!
February 20, 2023
We were recently honored by the South Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association. Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie presented the award at our newly renovated headquarters on Venning St.
February 19, 2023
Local black history is year round. Old Village resident William Jenkins grew up with some of our members on Morrison Street in Mount Pleasant.
February 5, 2023
We are documenting and telling our story in our community.
February 1, 2023
Thank you for your continued support of the African American Settlement Historic Commission!
This past month we lost one of our most energetic board members, Thomasena Stokes-Marshall.
Her legacy to our organization and many others will not be forgotten.
We hope that through our upcoming projects in the new year, we will continue to share her contributions to the community.
January 13, 2023
Fox 24: The Lowcountry Honors Thomasena Stokes-Marshall
By Sean Mahoney
The community is holding a memorial service this morning to honor the legacy of Tomansena Stokes-Marshall, who served as Mount Plesant’s councilwoman for 17 years. FOX 24 news correspondent Sean Mahoney details her tremendous accomplishments and impact on the community.
The service will take place at Sea Coast Church on Long Point Road at 11 a.m. It is open to the public.
(https://foxcharleston.com/the-lowcountry-honors-thomasena-stokes-marshall/)
January 13, 2023
Live 5 News: Community Remembers Life Of Mount Pleasant Councilwoman - ‘She was a game changer’
By Emily Johnson
Thomasena Stokes-Marshall’s casket was delivered on a horse-drawn carriage Friday.
Friends, family and members of the community celebrated the life of Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, the first and only Black woman to serve on the Mount Pleasant Town Council.
Her funeral was held on Friday at Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant after she died at the age of 79 on Jan. 7.
Pastors, past and present Mount Pleasant mayors and members from the many organizations that Thomasena Stokes-Marshall was part of spoke during her service.
One former Mayor of Mount Pleasant, Linda Page, used words such as trailblazer, leader, innovator and bold to describe her life.
“She had a tenacious desire to bring uncomfortable issues to the table, but she didn’t do it just to talk about it, she did it because she wanted to solve; how refreshing and how wonderful and I was so honored to serve with her,” Page says. “It didn’t matter about town council because if you’re here, you know and you were touched and impacted by something that she did, and those things will impact this region forever.”
Her casket was delivered on a horse-drawn carriage Friday morning with members of the Mount Pleasant Police Department ready to greet her before the service started.
While serving on town council for 17 years, she was also the co-founder of the African American Settlement Communities and founder of the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association.
Stokes-Marshall was on the Mount Pleasant Town Council until 2015 before Mayor Will Hayne began, but he says the town is better after her service than it was before.
“What I can express is what the theme of what I will always remember her for is that she worked on things, and championed things that didn’t depend on her still holding office to be important, and for people to keep in the forefront,” Hayne says.
In 2008, the town of Mount Pleasant senior center was named after her, where she championed all to stay active, take up extracurricular classes and art. Donna German with the center, says her work, service and life speaks volumes.
“She was not a stranger when it comes to hard work and dedication. Her time was immeasurable to many and it will always be remembered,” German says. “To the family, may you find peace and comfort as you reflect on the good times that you’ve shared with her.”
Since she founded the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival in 2005, the festival continues 19 years later and will continue the celebration of culture. Stokes-Marshall Virginia Stokes Watson worked with her on the festival and shares about her work ethic.
“She led the pack. So today yes, we will all miss her, but most importantly, I will miss her,” Watson says. “She was a gamechanger.”
Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.
December 28, 2022
As the year comes to an end and 2023 is underway, what more could we do or what more will we do? Proactivity and preparation has been our motto and our standard of operation.
The African American Historic Settlement Community Commission Inc. (AASC) has much to celebrate as we look back at our many accomplishments this past year. This has been a culmination of a Commission focusing on preserving and protecting the settlement communities.
The AASC activities this past year :
• Preserving the Legacy of the 1904 Long Point school
• Concert with Local artist headliner Charlton Singleton at Awendaw Municipal Park to raise awareness of 1904 Long Point School
• Creation of Annual Taste of Sweetgrass Culture in support of Annual Sweetgrass Festival
• Information Vendor at Wine Under the Oaks Boone Hall Plantation
• Collaboration with Mt Pleasant Waterworks in support of Infrastructure Bill
Despite the continuing difficult environment these communities find themselves in, the support of the AASC will be critical going forward and every effort to engage the Historic Settlement communities is our Mission.
As President, I have seen the AASC flourish into an effective and powerful resource for the preservation of the existence and culture of the settlement communities. Our first major milestone was in 2017 establishment and dedication of our headquarters, the Peter & Margurite Johnson Center est. 1929 in the Old Village in 2017 and the remarkable accomplishments have continued. with the relocation of the 1904 Long Point schoolhouse .When I reflect on my personal growth and awareness my greatest appreciation is extended to the people who have shared their knowledge, resources, and talents with the AASC.
Thank You.
I am confident that the AASC will continue on this journey and I anticipate celebrating many of its achievements in the years to come. The healthy engagement and shared voices will ultimately yield a rewarding 2023 and beyond.
Education to Action in 2023!
John Wright
December 20, 2022
South Carolina Ports: South Carolina Ports Awards $252,500 To Community Organizations
South Carolina Ports awarded $252,500 in grants to 90 community organizations and nonprofits throughout South Carolina through its fiscal year 2023 Community Giving Program.
SC Ports dedicates a portion of its revenues each year to support charitable organizations around the state.
“We are so proud that this year marks the most SC Ports has ever given through our Community Giving Program,” said Kelsi Brewer, SC Ports’ Director of Corporate Communications and Community Giving. “These funds will support the efforts of nonprofits around the state who are working so hard to make meaningful impacts for South Carolinians.”
SC Ports increased giving levels to $7,500, $5,000 and $2,500 grants this year to help further organizations’ missions.
Many of this year’s grant recipients are dedicated to community outreach and entrepreneurial development, such as the Eastside Community Development Corp. and Increasing H.O.P.E. These organizations provide support, education and training to help spark opportunities for people within their communities.
SC Ports continues to support organizations focused on increasing food security and access to healthy foods, including The Green Heart Project, Fresh Future Farm and Sustaining Way.
Environmental efforts that help enhance and preserve South Carolina’s natural resources remain a consistent focus for SC Ports. Numerous environmental organizations received grants this year, including Audubon South Carolina, the Avian Conservation Center/Center for Birds of Prey, Charleston Parks Conservancy, Environmental Education Association of SC, Friends of Coastal South Carolina, Hampton Wildlife Fund Inc. and Wounded Nature – Working Veterans.
SC Ports also believes deeply in supporting educational initiatives, with a special focus this year on workforce development and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) programs, including Beyond Our Walls, Communities in Schools of South Carolina, Future Entrepreneurs Foundation and Dillon County First Steps.
“One of the many impactful commitments our SC Ports team makes each year is its firm promise to consistently serve our communities around the state,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said. “We are so excited that our partners at the International Longshoreman’s Association joined us for the first time this year to help prioritize community needs. South Carolina’s maritime community is proud make a meaningful difference in the lives of South Carolinians.”
Programs must fit within one of the focus areas: maritime commerce, economic development, environmental awareness or community outreach. Programs with measurable, sustained impacts receive priority during the selection process.
Fiscal Year 2023 Community Giving Grant Recipients:
Eastside Community Development Corp.
The Green Heart Project
Beyond Our Walls, Inc. (BOWs)
Communities In Schools of South Carolina (CISSC)
Golden Achievers Community Development Center Inc.
Increasing H.O.P.E.
SC Future Makers
South Carolina Aquarium
Teachers’ Supply Closet
African American Settlement Historic Commission
Aiken Junior Golf Foundation, First Tee – Aiken
Amazing Grace Park, Clementa Pinckney Memorial Foundation
Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired SC
Audubon South Carolina
Avian Conservation Center/Center for Birds of Prey
Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence
BEGIN WITH BOOKS/Palmetto Project
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry
Boy Scouts of America – Coastal Carolina Council
Camp Happy Days
Camp Rise Above
Charleston Area Senior Citizens
Charleston Orphan House Inc., Carolina Youth D
Charleston Parks Conservancy
Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO)
Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas
Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry
Coaches For Character
Creative Advancement Centers
Dillon County Chamber of Commerce / PLDCAA
Dillon County First Steps
Dillon County United Way
Dorchester Economic Development Corporation
Dorchester Two Educational Foundation
Early Learning Partnership of York County
Edisto Island youth Recreation (EIYR)
Environmental Education Association of SC
Every 1 Voice Matters
Fields to Families
First Tee – Greater Charleston
Fresh Future Farm
Friends of Coastal South Carolina
Future Entrepreneurs Foundation
Girls on the Run Coastal South Carolina
Greenville Drive
Greenville Tech Foundation
Greer Community Ministries Inc.
Greer Development Corporation
Greer Relief & Resources Agency Inc.
Hampton Wildlife Fund Inc.
Healing Farms
Heart Math Tutoring
Help 4 Kids Florence
Helping Hands of Goose Creek
House of Hope North Charleston
Humanities Foundation
Jasper County First Steps
Junior Achievement of Greater SC
Kids On Point
A Backpack journalist
Lions Vision Services
Lowcountry Autism Foundation
Lowcountry Chapter of Stand Up and Play Foundation
Lowcountry Legal Volunteers
Lowcountry Local First
Lowcountry Maritime School
Meals On Wheels Of Summerville SC
Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation
Motivate To Educate Organization
Multiplying Good
Orangeburg County Community of Character
Project Cool Breeze
Reading Partners
Rural Area Leadership Initiative-Dillon County
SC Operation Lifesaver – SC NSC
SC School for the Deaf and the Blind Foundation
SHIELD Ministries Inc.
Sustaining Way
The Pink House Neighborhood Resource Center
The Village Group
Town of Ridgeville
Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative
Trident Literacy Association
Turn90
United Ministries
Wings for Kids
Winyah Rivers Alliance
Wounded Nature – Working Veterans
YouthBASE Inc.
YWCA Greater Charleston
About South Carolina Ports Authority
South Carolina Ports Authority, established by the state’s General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport and intermodal facilities in Charleston, Dillon, Georgetown and Greer. As an economic development engine for the state, Port operations facilitate 225,000 statewide jobs and generate nearly $63.4 billion in annual economic activity. SC Ports is soon to be home to the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast at 52 feet. SC Ports is an industry leader in delivering speed-to-market, seamless processes and flexibility to ensure reliable operations, big ship handling, efficient market reach and environmental responsibility. Please visit www.scspa.com to learn more about SC Ports.
(https://scspa.com/news/sc-ports-awards-252500-to-community-organizations/)
November 28, 2022
Join us this Sunday, stop by to see a Preservation update on The 1904 Long Point Schoolhouse!
https://www.boonehallplantation.com/special_event/wine-under-the-oaks/
(Photo by Boone Hall Plantation)
November 25, 2022
October 9, 2022
Thanks to Everyone that came out and showed so much support on yesterday, Saturday, October 8, 2022. We worked hard and got much accomplished with the cleanup and beautification of the 1904 Long Point School and the grounds.
Here are pictures to show the progress and the movements.
If you are interested to find out more, please email us at Admin@AASCHC.com to be added to our mailing list.
The Board of Directors of the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission give thanks to Mount Pleasant Waterworks, Boone Hall Plantation, Berkeley Electric, Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce, Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church, Settlement Communities, and individuals.
We Appreciate You! God's Continued Blessings to You All!
July 30, 2022
The 18th Annual Sweetgrass Festival was a great turn-out. It was hot-hot-hot!
We sold the Sweetgrass T-shirts and the 1904 Long Point School T-shirts.
Great vibes, atmosphere and setting to meet people and watched all types of talents perform. Our favorite was the local African Dance Group.
We are just getting started with public local events in a cultural kinda way.
Thanks to all our volunteers, our Board of Directors, Mount Pleasant Recreation, and everybody that showed up and showed out. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
It was a great success.
July 23, 2022
Our Commission hosted our 1st "Taste of Sweetgrass Culture" event last evening at the Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park.
We are just getting started with public local events in a cultural kinda way.
It was a great success.
July 22, 2022
Count On News 2: Lowcountry Leaders Gearing Up For The 18th Annual Sweetgrass Festival
By Lexi Moore
The annual Sweetgrass Festival kicks off this weekend and leaders in the Lowcountry met at the First Taste of Sweetgrass Culture Dinner to kick off the event.
The history culture and tradition of the Gullah Geechee is showcased through this festival for people across the Lowcountry to enjoy.
“The history here and the culture are so important for the region and the state. I spent my summers here,” says Reggie Love, the keynote speaker at the First Taste of Sweetgrass Culture Dinner.
The African American Historic Settlement Community welcomed Love, a Charleston native as the keynote speaker for this year’s dinner. Love is President Barack Obama’s personal aide and is a Duke Blue Devils National Basketball Champion.
He says he has learned so much from the settlement community and it’s important to keep the festival a tradition.
“As much as we get our educational knowledge from our school system, we as a community need to also amplify and reinforce what is left out of the curriculum,” says Love.
Love says seeing people from all ages come together and celebrate the Gullah Geechee culture makes the sweetgrass festival one of a kind.
“The saltwater, food, smell, and even the humidity, I sometimes even miss that. All of those pieces are great and you can’t find them anywhere else in the world,” he says.
The Sweetgrass Festival is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park.
https://www.counton2.com/news/lowcountry-leaders-gearing-up-for-the-18th-annual-sweetgrass-festival/
June 3, 2022
On behalf of the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission Board, I would like to thank Grant Gilmore and the College Of Charleston Historic Preservation students for their hard work excavating the old Long Point Schoolhouse.
Today we honored them with a luncheon, school house t shirts, and thank you cards for all their hard work!
May 19, 2022
Count On News 2: Settlement Communities Battle Developers To Protect Their Land
By Kevon Dupree
Neighbors in historic African-American communities in Mount Pleasant say their properties are under constant threat from outside developers, who want to purchase land that has been in their families for hundreds of years.
Settlement community residents say their ancestors put in blood, sweat and tears to acquire and maintain their land but now, they find themselves in a constant battle to keep developers from taking it.
“It’s one of those things where we’ve gotten shrunk and shrunk and shrunk,” Carla Gregg, president of the Four Mile Community Association, said. “Now it’s like, ‘Wow, how much longer can we hang on to what we have here?'”
Historic settlement communities, such as Four Mile, are working to preserve land they’ve owned for generations from outside developers.
“I get at least one or two postcards a day in my mailbox,” Gregg said. “At least one or two calls a week. ‘Are you interested in selling?’ People in the neighborhood get the exact same thing.”
Gregg says she’s witnessed her neighborhood dwindle as a result of development projects over the years.
“Four Mile actually is on 17,” she said. “So, when it went from two lanes, to four, to eight and with the median in the inside, that took away some homes. It took away a lot of people’s front yards, my family included. Then, when Hungry Neck came, it took out a whole section of Four Mile.”
Gregg says developers only view the land her ancestors worked hard to acquire as prime real estate, and don’t respect its historic value.
“I think the developers just see, ‘Oh, they are 15 minutes from downtown. They are seven minutes from Isle of Palms. They are two minutes from Towne Centre,’” she said. “They see it as a selling point for the new development that they want to put in.”
Snowden residents say their community also constantly faces threats from outside developers.
“I see them like once or twice a month coming in,” Snowden resident Thomas Jenkins said, “wanting to know, who owns this property, or who’s in charge of that certain property? It’s all the time. All the time.”
A recent housing development in Snowden has current resident, and former Mount Pleasant Town Councilmember, Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, concerned.
“He has a huge sign on the Long Point Road,” Stokes-Marshall said, “Coaxum Road that says these homes are selling for $700,000.”
She worries the $700,000 price tag will drastically increase property taxes for families who have lived there for generations.
“The kind of negative impact it will have on residents who have lived here in Snowden pretty much all their lives,” Stokes-Marshall said, “and who can least afford it, is going to present the potential for taxing us out of our property.”
The African American Settlement Community Historic Commission (AASCHC) was formed in 2016 to advocate for settlement communities. AASCHC President John Wright says his organization will fight for Snowden residents in this instance as well.
“We’ve been here for a very long time,” Wright said. “We’re okay with diversity, we’re okay with living amongst other people, but what we don’t want is we don’t want to be taxed out of our communities that we’ve been in for hundreds of years.”
Wright says there needs to be a community benefit agreement established between settlement communities and local municipalities.
“They’re already historic in its nature,” he said, “by being settlement communities. So, then why should a settlement community endure any additional taxes, just because someone wants to come in and build a $700,000 home.”
Many settlement community residents say, ultimately, what they want in their neighborhoods is peace.
“We don’t want anymore development,” Gregg said. “We have enough gas stations, we have enough hotels, we have enough houses. I think we have enough of everything right now to say, ‘Well done, Mount Pleasant. Can we just be left alone?'”
https://www.counton2.com/news/settlement-communities-battle-developers-to-protect-their-land/
May 16, 2022
Live 5 News: Historic African American School Site To Be Excavated
By Emilie Zuhowski
Beginning this week, a team of students at the College of Charleston will be excavating the site that used to be home to an African American schoolhouse in Mount Pleasant.
The archaeology students will be excavating the site where the Long Point School used to stand in Mount Pleasant.
The schoolhouse was built in 1904, when no schools were available to African American children.
“This is right after Reconstruction that our people in the countryside was able to have a school to go to,” said Joseph Palmer, a former student at the school. “Just the thought of that to me is so powerful.”
The school served the community from 1904 to 1953. The building remained at the site until 2018.
Through archeology, the team of students will be looking to find out about life in the earlier days of the school, like what they ate, what toys they were using, and what types of desks they used. They’ll be looking for marbles, jacks, learning materials, and anything that could give a glimpse into day-to-day life at the school.
Grant Gilmore, the director of the Historical Preservation and Community Planning Program at the College of Charleston, said this is only the third schoolhouse like this in the country that has been excavated.
“People might wonder, why are we excavating on a school site? Well, in this particular instance, it’s an African American school, which there are very few documentary records,” Gilmore said. “So, archeology, as with much of African American history, is one of the only ways that we can get it at trying to find out what was going on here, what was day-to-day life like.”
Gilmore said it’s their last and only chance to recover this material record of the people who went to school here because this site is going to be developed.
Gilmore also said they are encouraging people who attended that school to come visit the site. The team will be out on the site Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until June 2.
Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.
https://www.live5news.com/2022/05/16/historic-african-american-school-site-be-excavated/
May 14, 2022
Thank you Boone Hall for helping us with our recent clean up and plantings!
March 24, 2022
ABC News 4: Concert To Benefit Historic Long Point School This Weekend Features Charlton Singleton
by Bailey Wright
A fundraising concert featuring Grammy Award winner Charlton Singleton is scheduled this Saturday to benefit the historic Long Point School.
The concert is this Saturday, March 26, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Awendaw Municipal Park, 7900 Doar Rd.
Awendaw-native and founding member of Ranky Tanky- will be joined by Black Diamond, Oscar Rivers and The Jazz Quartet, Larry Ford/The Unit Band Featuring: Abe White & Vocalist, Brenda Metoyer.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg will also be there, along with MC Tessa Spencer, of ABC News 4, and DJ Terry Base. The President and CEO of the International African American Museum, Dr. Tonya M. Matthews, will be there too.
Food and craft vendors will be on site, as well as wine, beer, soft drinks, and water.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs. Outside beverages are not permitted.
Tickets range from $25 to $75 for adults and children. They can be purchased on EventBrite.
Long Point School History
The Long Point School was actively used from 1904 to 1953.
It was once a school for the African American community in Snowden for almost 50 years. Last fall, it was moved to a new location.
Now, the Long Point Schoolhouse is being turned into a Cultural and Educational Center to reflect the history of the area.
Leaders expect to open the center in 2023 after renovations.
March 3, 2022
1904 Long Point School Fundraising Concert: Rebuilding the Legacy Television Commercials Released
Two television commercials for the 1904 Long Point School Fundraising Concert: Rebuilding The Legacy were released today and will be shown across the Lowcountry starting tomorrow morning. You may see both of them here:
February 21, 2022
1904 School Foundation Now Set
Pictures by: Joe Palmer - Board Member & Contractor
February 1, 2022
Boone Hall Plantation And Berkeley Electric Check Presentation Photos
Photos by Harold Horlback
February 1, 2022
News 2: Boone Hall Plantation, Berkeley Electric donate $125K to restore historic African American schoolhouse
All month long during the month of February, News 2 is honoring black history across the Lowcountry. Plans to turn a historic African American School House into a cultural center in the Snowden Community are moving forward thanks to help of some donations. Boone Hall Plantation and Berkeley Electric are chipping in over $100,000 towards the efforts.
Tuesday’s check presentation kicked off African American history month and for those working to convert the school, it signified a major step forward in their efforts to preserve the history of where they came from.
For the African American Historic Settlement Commission, it’s about securing the needed funding to transform a nearly 120-year-old-building into a public asset.
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“My first grade and the foundation for my education started right here,” says Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, who is an alumna of the school house.
The project providing a facelift for the school house that provided hope and opportunity for those who attended. For Stokes-Marshall, her hope and opportunity came during segregation.
“It’s extremely important to me that we preserve that history,” says Stokes-Marshall. “It’s about knowing where you came from to know where you’re going.”
Long Point school house served several African American settlement communities in the area, including many who lived and worked at Boone Hall Plantation.
“So, there is a direct connection to this community as well as other settlement communities here in Mount Pleasant but in particular this community because of close proximity that it is to Boone Hall Plantation,” says John Wright, President of the African American Historic Settlement Commission.
Boone Hall, Berkeley Electric and the African American historic settlement commission investing in the historic school house in a big way.
“We want to raise awareness that this is a public facility that will be used when it’s restored to the Long Point Cultural Educational Center,” says Wright.
Boone Hall chipping in $100,000, Berkeley Electric adding $25,000, the commission’s President Wright says the funds go a long way to getting the project started.
“Then the next steps are to literally do the architectural engineered design on what the school will look like,” says Wright.
Wright and the Snowden Community are hopeful donations will continue in order to tell the history for generations to come.
“This is not something that is happening every day and it’s very important and it’s very significant and we’re happy, very happy to partner with Boone Hall,” says Wright.
Wright says the $125,000 makes up about half the money to complete the project. The commission says for those interested in donating can do so through it’s go fund me page.
January 4, 2022
Long Point Schoolhouse Work Pictures
Photos by Harold Horlback
November 5, 2021
South Carolina Public Radio: What We Can Learn From Saving A Historic African American Schoolhouse
By Victoria Hansen
An historic schoolhouse being moved in the post-slavery, African American settlement community of Snowden near Mount Pleasant on October 15, 2021. Built to educate Black children in 1904, the old Long Point Elementary School will be restored as an cultural education center.
It is a strange sight for sure.
A century old schoolhouse atop a trailer wobbles down a paved road, dodging power lines and excited onlookers on its way to a prominent new home in the post-slavery, African American settlement community it once served.
“You know, this schoolhouse used to be on what we call the edge of the neighborhood,” says Vera German.
“We didn’t venture that far when we were kids because that was kind of the limits back in the day.”
German’s father attended Long Point Elementary School which opened in 1904 to educate Black children during the Jim Crow era. The property she remembers was sold to developers leaving the historic schoolhouse in danger of being demolished.
But four years ago, the Snowden community came together to save the school from abandon near a Waffle House off I-526.
Located in an unincorporated area of Mount Pleasant just outside Charleston, Snowden is one of several areas where slaves freed after the Civil War bought land, farmed and raised families. Many of their descendants still live there, not far from Boone Hall Plantation.
But communities like Snowden are quickly disappearing and the Long Point Schoolhouse is believed to be one of the last in the area.
“Every obstacle, every hurdle has been worth it,” says John Wright, the President of the African American Historic Settlement Community Commission. It’s mission is to preserve and protect communities like Snowden.
Wright says saving the school has not only been expensive but complicated. There have been all kinds of issues from permits, to land ownership, even weather.
But perhaps it’s only fitting for a school built at a time when Black people were still being denied an education and those who did receive schooling were segregated.
“In 1904, some of their obstacles were Jim Crow,” says Wright. “Some of their obstacles were this predates Brown versus the Board of Education.”
The Long Point Elementary School as photographed in 1955 three years before it closed to make way for a bigger school for Black children.
Joseph Palmer grins as he watches the old schoolhouse settle- in to its new address in Snowden.
Palmer was 7 years-old and the first grade when he attended as one of the last students at Long Point Elementary. The school closed in 1953 when a new, larger one opened bringing Black children together from other communities, although still segregated.
“That was an excitement,” says Palmer. “Kind of scary too. Like wow, we have to make this adjustment to a whole new world.”
Palmer remembers strange little desks in the once one-room schoolhouse converted to two by the time he attended with students grades first through sixth.
“In the back, they had outhouses, one for girls and one for boys,” says Deborah Holmes Gambell.
Gamble did not attend Long Point Elementary School, but her great-grandfather bought the schoolhouse and some of the previous property not long after it opened. The school stayed in the family even after it closed. They renovated and lived in it.
“If you take the old siding off, the original wood is under the old siding,” says Mike Holmes.
The Holmes family has donated the historic schoolhouse to be restored into a cultural education center. Fundraising for that effort is now underway.
“This is very important. Let’s keep this alive,” says Reverend Arthur Pinckney who attended the school for three years.
Pinckney says he is grateful for the education he received even though he later learned it was not the same as what white children were being taught at the time. He remembers white children on school buses pelting Black children as they made their long walk to school.
Pinckney is relieved to now have the historic schoolhouse he feared would be lost, closer to his Snowden home.
“Because there is nothing here that connects us to history no more than the Snowden community.”
A community that persevered despite the oppression of slavery, segregation, even development has revived a reminder of hope; hope for a better life through education.
"This is very important. Let's keep this alive."
Reverend Arthur Pinckney- Former Student
https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/2021-11-05/what-we-can-learn-from-saving-an-historic-african-american-schoolhouse
August 4, 2021
Moultrie News: Historic Schoolhouse Finally Finds A Permanent Home
By Catherine Kohn
The struggle to move, preserve and use the historic Long Point Road Schoolhouse has been a long one. The Long Point Road School was originally built in 1904 with one room to provide an education for African American children who were forbidden from attending segregated schools. A second room was added later. The schoolhouse, which sits hidden from the road just off the I-526 entrance ramp, was quite literally on wheels in December 2019 and was ready to be placed on a site at the Snowden Community Center when the plans fell apart.
But that was then. The morning of August 4 brought an announcement from the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission that should result in the schoolhouse finally resting in a permanent home. John Wright, president of the commission’s board, stood with members of the commission, along with council member Kathy Landing, to announce the successful purchase of land off Snowden Road that will become a permanent site for the schoolhouse. Moving date is September 30.
Wright said he spoke with Representative Mark Smith, who is the state representative for District 99. “Mark has seen the site – has seen the location where the school is going to be moving to – and he’s 1,000 percent supportive of the project.”
“It gives us an opportunity as African Americans to preserve an African American site,” Wright said. “So we will not only own the land, we will own the site as well
as the land,” referring back to various plans to locate the schoolhouse on public property. He said he is “looking forward to it becoming a cultural education center for public use. “We’re going to tie this school in Snowden community to the Boone Hall Plantation as well as the Charles Pinckney historic site, which is less than a mile from it. So hopefully, we’re going to bring some history to this building.”
Board member Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, who attended the school as a first-grade student, said she hopes the schoolhouse will eventually be a place that gathers the history of the school. A place that will become a “cultural educational entity to help educate and inform and make people aware of the history of that school and the significance of it. Where people like myself, can look back on it. Where I came from, people of my age category and my parents before me, where we all came from … not being able to attend a school with all people. We were segregated deliberately.”
“It’s important for the generations that come after me and ones that come after that, to be made aware of how it used to be … where we were forbidden. We were not allowed to engage in those opportunities, because we were considered less than because of the color of our skin,” Stokes-Marshall said.
Wright emphasized that the commission is working with “an abundance of partners.” He acknowledged the help of some of those partners and thanked the South Carolina Department of History and Archives, College of Charleston Architectural Review, Preservation Charleston, the National Park Services, Brockington and Associates, State Representative Mark Smith, the Gullah Geechee Corridor, and the International African American Museum.
“This is phase one. Phase One is the move,” Wright said.
The commission is continuing to raise funds for the restoration of the schoolhouse. Go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/long-point-schoolhouse-restoration to contribute.
August 9, 2021
Moultrie News: Long Point Schoolhouse Restoration Project Reaches A Turning Point
By Catherine Kohn
Preserving history to inform the present can be a difficult undertaking. Just ask anyone on the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission. For more than four years the organization has attempted to move and restore the only remaining African American school east of the Cooper River – the Long Point Schoolhouse. Success, however, now appears to be within their grasp.
This early 1900’s building was an integral part of the Snowden Gullah-Geechee community created after the Civil War by freed enslaved men and women. During the Jim Crow era it served as a place where Black children could gain an education – something denied them by the segregationist policies of the times. The school began as a one-room school house, eventually expanding to two rooms. It was closed in 1953 after Jennie Moore Elementary School opened to serve African American children and became a residence for many years.
The Long Point Schoolhouse, hidden behind trees and brush just off the I-526 entrance ramp on Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant, sits raised on cinderblocks. An earlier plan involved relocating the schoolhouse to the grounds of the Snowden Community Center in December 2019 — a plan that fell through at the last minute leaving the historic school’s fate in limbo.
It became clear to commission members that placing the schoolhouse on public property would be problematic. Undeterred, the commission continued its mission to save the structure so it could become a cultural center for both the local and greater community. On August 4, John Wright, president of the organization, along with other AASC board members, publicly announced it had purchased land for the building’s relocation within the Snowden community and had set a moving date of September 30.
Michael Allen, a well-known historian who worked in the National Park Service for decades, has deep ties throughout the state with preservation organizations. He is acting as an advisor to the group. Allen said it is partnerships that make the difference in success.
Numerous partnerships and resources are already in place and the hope is to forge a bond with Boone Hall Plantation, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, the International African American Museum and the City of Charleston Visitor’s Bureau.
Allen points to the success of the Historic Harrington School on St. Simon Island in Georgia as a model. That small schoolhouse was built in the 1920s and was the primary school for three African American communities on the island until the 1960s when schools finally desegregated. It became a day care center for a couple of years then fell into disrepair after being abandoned and was almost demolished. Through the efforts of community activists the building was fully restored and is now a landmark and cultural center that is used to educate and enrich both residents and visitors to the island.
“When I go to St. Simon’s I see it (restoration) works. I know it’s possible,” Allen said of the project. The new location for the Long Point Schoolhouse is “safe, secure and prominent,” Allen said, which is also a positive factor to achieve a successful outcome.
Former Town Council Member and community activist, Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, is on the commission’s board. She attended the school in 1948 as a kindergartner when there were only dirt roads. She would ride her bike or walk to school. “They taught English. They taught math. Especially math. I remember that. I was not a good math student. And I remember coming home with work I needed to do and trying to figure it out. And my dad was a real stickler for that,” said Stokes-Marshall, smiling at the memory.
“We’re looking at that school to be in place within the next, in my mind, I’d say a year and a half to two years. We’re working with Brockington Associates to help develop the interior, and the program contents and education and all of that,” she said.
Finding state, local and federal grants are a vital part of the process, as well as community fundraising. Wright said the early estimate for the restoration was set at $200,000. The costs could potentially be more, but that remains their initial fundraising benchmark. He said they will “look at every grant possible” and search for every potential donor to achieve their goal of restoring the schoolhouse.
To donate to this restoration effort go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/long-point-schoolhouse-restoration.
John Wright said the initial fundraising benchmark for the restoration of the Long Point Schoolhouse is $200,000.
August 2, 2021
Long Point Schoolhouse Restoration GoFundMe
August 2, 2021
The 1904 Historic Long Point Schoolhouse Move Press Release
July 1, 2021
The Scanlonville Community has recently picked the winning design for Scanlonville Park. The design winners are from the
North Carolina A&T Landscape Architecture school.
Check out this video in English that explains more:
Here is the same video in Spanish:
June 17, 2021
AASC board members attending monthly Mt Pleasant Chamber of Commerce luncheon with guest speaker Hellen Hill CEO of Charleston Visitors Bureau and Aviation Authority Board. AASC values our membership and interaction with the business community.
June 28, 2020
October 12, 2019
Today, we loaded a truck full of relief supplies for the Bahamas at our headquarters.
October 9, 2019
The African American Settlement Community Historic Commission Board recently had a productive dialogue with the board of the International African American Museum in Charleston.
August 23, 2019
Today, we celebrated Phillips Community Family Day with the local residents.
February 6, 2019
Moultrie News: African American Historic Settlement Community Commission Inc. celebrates 2018 accomplishments
By John Wright
Our motto in 2018 was the Year of Preparation. The African American Historic Settlement Community Commission Inc. (AASC) has much to celebrate as we look back at our many accomplishments this past year. This has been a culmination of three years as a commission focusing on preserving and protecting the settlement communities.
AASC’s achievements were remarkable in 2018. Here is a small sampling of last year’s work:
Snowden AME Church Property – collaborated with community to protect it from large development.
Long Point Road Expansion Project – Mount Pleasant cancelled project due to effect on Snowden community.
Highway 41 expansion project – will harm Phillips community – we were appointed to Stakeholders group and consultant party.
Scanlonville Community – saved property that was a part of the original settlement community.
Saved the Snowden Long Point Road School 1904 structure (currently under contract with a move slated for March 2019).
Collaboration with Coastal Conservation League’s Fix Flooding First Coalition.
Introduction of AASC and its mission statement to all local government agencies.
Engagement in Comprehensive Plan – Town of Mount Pleasant 10 year and Charleston County 20-year plan.
Advocate and support of the new Charleston County Historic Preservation Ordinance – will give additional protection to settlement community lands.
Oral History Project – collaborating with Citadel Oral History Department.
Cainhoy Plantation Consulting Party – 9,000 housing unit development effecting existing settlement communities.
Despite the continuing difficult environment these communities find themselves in, the support of the AASC will be critical going forward. We started engaging with the communities and citizens on a large scale via local press, word of mouth and social media – especially Facebook. The number of people engaging with us currently on Facebook is 300 percent greater than at the beginning of the year.
With the 2019 motto – Education to Action – look forward to Education Forums in 2019.
Since I became president, I have seen the AASC flourish into a resourceful avenue for the settlement communities. Our first major milestone was the dedication of our headquarters, the Peter & Margurite Johnson Center, in Old Village in 2017 and the remarkable accomplishments have continued.
When I look back at my own achievements, my greatest discoveries have been the people who have shared their knowledge, resources, and talents with the AASC. Thank You.
I am confident that the AASC will continue on this journey and I anticipate celebrating many of its achievements in the years to come. The healthy engagement and shared voices will ultimately yield a rewarding 2019 and beyond.
John F. Wright was born and raised in Mount Pleasant, SC. Returned home in 2013 after serving our country for 29 years in the military. Wright has several community achievements, including a Presidential Award in education, People Magazine digital highlight for Fill A Truck for Flint water crisis, Jefferson Awards recipient, Founder of The Wright Walk Foundation and President of the African American Historical Settlement Commission.
January 9, 2019
The Charleston Chronicle: Deadline To Register For Property Tax Installment Program Approaching
By Barney Blakeney
The deadline to register for the Charleston County Advance Tax Installment Program is January 15. Through the newly implemented program taxpayers who own real estate property in Charleston County may be eligible to pay real property taxes through advance installments, at no additional cost to the taxpayer. In order to participate, the real property must not be delinquent or have a mortgage escrow.
For many property owners, the decade-old statewide advance tax installment program made available to Charleston County property owners only last year will be a blessing. It allows them to make installment tax payments rather than a lump sum due each January 15. The African American Settlement Community Historic Commission (AASC) January 7 sponsored a presentation by Charleston County Treasurer Mary Tinkler on how it works.
The Advance Installment Payment Plan consists of six equal payments based on the previous year’s real property tax bill. For example, if your 2018 real property taxes were $1,200, then your plan would consist of six equal payments (in cash or check only) of $200 each to pay toward your 2019 real property taxes. On October 1, 2019, Charleston County will calculate your 2019 real property tax bill; therefore, your sixth and final payment will be based on the remaining amount due to pay your real property taxes in full. Charleston County will send a notice (no later than November 15th) informing you of the amount due for your sixth and final installment payment. The final payment is due by January 15th.
AASC Board President John Wright said the organization has been working to make the program available in Charleston County the past four years. As gentrification leads to higher and higher property values and taxes, many landowners find it increasingly more difficult to make tax payments, he said. Families that may have an income of only about $20,000 annually now own property with taxes assessed at several thousand dollars. Forced to pay the higher taxes in one lump sum has caused many landowners to lose their property, he said. The advanced tax installment program can help them, he said.
Elected county treasurer in 2016, Tinkler said she realizes her job is not to conduct tax sales and property redemptions, but to advocate for taxpayers. A former member of the S.C. House of Representatives, after election as treasurer she made the advance tax installment program a priority. The program is regulated by state statute so she had to go through Charleston County’s Legislative Delegation to get the program approved for Charleston County. The program’s been implemented in Beaufort, Dorchester and Richland counties for the past several years, she said. Registration for the program began December 1.
In its first year in Charleston County taxpayers may find it difficult to participate since all back taxes must be paid in full. But the opportunity to register for the program will come again next December, she said.
Wallace Washington, a Mount Pleasant landowner said the program will lighten the burden for a lot of property owners. And while it needs tweaking that includes extending the registration deadline and potentially allowing property owners paying back taxes the opportunity to participate as well, it’s definitely a plus.
October 5, 2018
Live 5 News: Snowden community working to raise money for historic school house renovations
By Kolbie Satterfield
The Snowden community is working to raise money to move and restore the Long Point Road School House.
A fundraising event on Friday night could give them fundraising momentum.
Long Point Road School House is one of the last remaining Jim Crow buildings in South Carolina and the last African American school east of the Cooper.
A developer brought the property the school currently sits on and is giving the community time to move the school so they can preserve it.
Snowden Community President Freddie Jenkins said it would cost around $200,000 to move and restore the school house and turn it into a community education center.
He said their focus right now is raising $20,000 to $30,000 to get the school moved. He said once it’s at its new home they would try and raise the additional money and apply for grants to help with the expense.
Jenkins said in the first few months of raising money, they have raised $10,000.
A former Long Point Road School House student said she hopes that number doubles in Friday night’s event.
“I’m hoping we can raise $10,000 more. That would be a blessing,” Mary P. Lawerence said.
Lawerence said for her, having the school restored would bring opportunities to teach future generations about the past.
“It would be amazing for them to see just how far we came,” Lawerence said. “It’s a journey.”
Her brother Rev. Arthur Pickney, and former classmate, agreed. He said it would be historical to reopen the only school they had at the time.
“We see what my parents and grandparents went through to get educated and I wanted to educate myself and a lot of us went to college after too,” Pickney said.
Pickney said he went to Long Point School House until desegregation and said many of his former classmates continued through high school and went on to college and the military.
That’s why he said opening it back up would bring history back to life.
“I think it’d be a shining light for the community for us to do something like this together,” Pickney said.
The Long Point Road School House event is Friday, Oct. 5 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Seacoast Church on Long Point Road.
The suggested donation for the event is $25. The fundraising event includes Gullah cuisine, music, and honoring former students of Long Point Road School House who still live in the Snowden community.
March 9, 2018
The Post And Courier: As development races ahead, so do efforts to save African-American settlement communities
By Robert Behre
After the Civil War and Reconstruction, newly freed slaves and their descendants settled into dozens of new communities around Charleston, and most of these communities still exist today, at least in part.
But for how long?
The region’s surging population, rising land prices and development pressures are posing a huge challenge to these communities: A 2007 study done by Clemson University Landscape Architecture students found some had already gone, such as the Two Mile Community here.
Nearly 95 percent of the rest could be consumed by sprawl if nothing changes.
There is new hope.
A nonprofit, the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission, is gearing up to advocate for these troubled sites, and Charleston County Council is expected to consider zoning changes that would provide help with their preservation.
It’s a complicated puzzle that zoning alone can’t solve. The communities face issues of heirs property, economic development and new infrastructure, and public awareness about their special place in the Lowcountry’s Gullah Geechie culture and history.
Historic preservation in these communities may revolve less around architecture or historic events and more around unique land settlement patterns that reflects a reliance on one another — and on the land.
Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, a former town councilwoman and member of the new commission, said many people moving to the Lowcountry are leaving larger cities for the relatively quieter quality of life here.
“But the rate of our development is chipping away from these qualities and characteristics,” she said. “A significant percent of the folks who move here are not aware of the history of the settlement communities and our contributions.”
The Phillips community off S.C. Highway 41 about a half-mile from Highway 17 is typical of many settlement areas that tell the story of how newly emancipated slaves began forging a new kind of life, largely on their own. It also may serve as a test case about how new preservation efforts might work.
‘It was difficult’
Dr. Cari Goetcheus of the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design, led the Clemson students’ study a decade ago to document the history of 10 African-American communities in East Cooper.
Before a bridge linked Charleston and Mount Pleasant, the East Cooper area had a lot of property that was not accessible and not wanted much, she said, unlike today, when it’s Charleston’s fast-growing suburb.
“It kind of made sense that people who didn’t have as much wealth opted to live there,” she said. “It was difficult.”
Some, such as the Phillips community, date from the 1880s and were home to freed slaves. On average, they date to the early 1900s up to about 1920.
Buildings were constructed in almost an Amish fashion, with community members pitching in to help. Many took shape over years, without a single bank loan.
Because of their relative isolation, Goetcheus said, the communities were able to retain a lot of their inherent “culture, language, food, artistic ways, or the way they developed the land and the buildings.”
“It was really kind of the way each family created a communal gathering space. When they divided parcels up, they would just take a piece of property and build their own building on it,” she added. “They were in a family compound. That’s pretty unique. You can still see that land-use pattern today.”
She said these communities began to change two generations ago — and not just because of new bridges across the Cooper River.
“I once asked somebody, ‘What do you think was the biggest negative impact on your communities?’” Goetcheus said. “They said integration was the biggest impact because the communities did not need to have their own stores, their own banks, their own community infrastructure. They could go anywhere they chose to. That was kind of the decline.”
‘What we need now’
John Wright grew up in Mount Pleasant and left in 1984 to serve more than two decades in the Army. When he moved back a few years ago, he realized how little attention was being paid to the historically black neighborhoods in and around the town.
That led him to form the new advocacy nonprofit the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission, which is headquartered in a donated building — a former black business, at 442 Venning Road.
“Settlement communities have been researched and studied enough,” he said. “The action piece is what we need now.”
Wright and the AASC has a growing list of allies. The Coastal Community Foundation is helping the organization get on its feet, and the Historic Charleston Foundation is also cheering it on.
Chris Cody, Historic Charleston’s advocacy manager, said the foundation feels a responsibility to do all it can to assist with the new nonprofit’s success.
“The Charleston area’s historic African-American settlement communities are facing intense development pressure,” he said, “and we hope to help the AASC preserve the unique characteristics of these culturally significant places.”
Robert MacDonald of the Mount Pleasant Historic Commission said the group is urging the town to consider a moratorium on new development in the town’s Sweetgrass Basket Overlay Zone, which was designed to protect communities north of the Isle of Palms Connector, between Highway 17, Porchers Bluff Road and Rifle Range Road.
He plans to push to preserve an abandoned but intact African-American school house along Long Point Road in the Snowden community and to help find a compromise to protect the Phillips community during the widening of Highway 41.
“These communities are really invisible to many people who live in Mount Pleasant,” MacDonald said, “which is really a tragedy.”
New preservation ordinance?
Many of the communities are situated mostly in unincorporated Charleston County, which is drafting an ordinance to expand its historic preservation protections.
The ordinance, if approved, would create a new commission tasked with making an inventory of properties worthy of protection, said county Planning Director Joel Evans. Currently, only properties on the National Register of Historic Places have that.
The Charleston County Planning Commission is scheduled to review the draft ordinance Monday. County Council could take a final vote on it by early summer.
A 2016 county survey — done by New South Associates — looked at about 1,300 properties and deemed four settlement communities eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, including Phillips, Snowden and Scanlonville-Remleys Point in Mount Pleasant, and Sol Legare on James Island.
“We have been getting a lot of folks coming to our Planning Commission from the African-American communities interested in creating protections in their areas along the lines of historic preservation,” Evans said.
Cody said the foundation is glad to see the county drafting a new historic preservation ordinance and would like to see the county become a certified local government, a designation that would help it compete for preservation grants. Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, Summerville and McClellanville already have that status.
“We will support the proposed ordinance regardless because it represents a drastic improvement over the present situation,” he added.
Stokes-Marshall, who serves on the AASC Historic Commission’s board, said settlement communities simply want the same kind of review and preservation that already exists in other historic districts, such as the Old Village in Mount Pleasant.
“We’re not asking for anything that has not already been put in place and used,” she said.
Community’s survival
Wright and other members of the AASC Historic Commission gathered recently in the front yard of his family’s home in the Phillips community. Nearby, a steady stream of traffic hummed by along Highway 41.
Wright said this community is his top priority. A nearly $132 million project to widen the highway could begin in 2022, and since the road slices the community in half, the details may determine its survival. Will it be four lanes or three? How can the project be built to minimize the ill effects?
Phillip’s preservation is less about saving any particular building or landscape than saving a sense of community and unique settlement pattern that separates it from the more conventional developments all around it.
“There are no parcels here,” Wright said. “There are acres.”
Asked what they hope Phillips will be in 30 years, AASC board member Adriane Smalls-Owens said she wants to see its different dialect and Gullah culture survive. Even if descendants of early community members don’t own all the properties, she would like to see new owners and the larger community embrace the culture.
“We embrace change. We embrace different cultures,” she said. “That’s what we’re taught, but it has to be on both sides.”
Wright said he hopes Phillips can maintain its sense of community and become more vital through new commercial endeavors, including ones that use its unique history to attract tourists.
Mostly, he hopes the community survives. He’s already seen how its sense of place can be eroded away.
Benjamin Bennett, Wright’s great-grandfather’s brother, lived in the Phillips community and was buried there. His headstone survives and recognizes his service in Company A of the 128th brigade of the United States Colored Infantry, which fought for the Union in the Civil War.
Wright recently visited his grave. To get there, he drove down 41 and a few miles into the Rivertowne neighborhood. He then set out on foot on a boardwalk quietly tucked between two large homes to reach the Parkers Island Cemetery Park.
February 22, 2018
Moultrie News: African American historical society
By Sully Witte
When John Wright returned four years ago to his hometown of Mount Pleasant he promised himself and his family members that he would immerse himself in his community. For Wright, it was more than just being a part of it - it was about preserving the culture and way of life that always made Mount Pleasant so special.
He unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Mount Pleasant Town Council, but has worked tirelessly toward the formation of a youth council via an annual youth forum. He's been involved and he's staying involved, he said.
His latest effort is in the role of the president of the African American Settlement Communities Historic Commission. The group dedicated their official headquarters in the Old Village last October. It's located at the at the Peter and Marguerite Johnson Center at 440 Venning St.
The group was quietly formed 18 months ago to address unprecedented pressure from growth and development impacting African American settlement communities such as Snowden, Scanlonville (Remley’s Point), Phillip, and Huger. Its headquarters in the Johnson’s former home is symbolic of the commission’s role in preserving local history and culture.
Wright said these areas and others across the Lowcountry are an important part of the social history of the area.
So many of these areas are located in Charleston County. The geographic areas are referred to as 'Doughnut Holes' because they are governed by the county, but they are situated within the Town Limits of Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant is the fourth largest municipality in the state and what happens in the town affects those communities.
"Each one of these communities are integral to the history of our town and we're concerned about the pressures on these communities caused by development and growth," Wright said.
These communities date back to the mid 19th Century and are distinctly unique from each other.
According to Robert McDonald, a liaison from the Mount Pleasant Historical Commission, at the end of the Civil War freedmen moved to the Sea Islands because they were isolated from the effort to restore white supremacy - to include Mount Pleasant. These communities are now being encroached upon with no thought as to their creation.
"Each one of these communities are different and they each have their own issues," Wright said. "We want to work to create overlay zoning to help them. They're facing increased development and gentrification is an immediate challenge. That leads to affordability issues and increasing taxes. Some of these residents are on a fixed income and can't afford the ever increasing costs."
The Sweetgrass Overlay District is an example of zoning that is designed to protect areas along Hungryneck Boulevard. But zoning requests from developers have been made and approved in that area, defeating the whole purpose of the overlay district, Wright explained. Part of this initiative is they insist that the commission be made aware of any such requests in an African American settlement community before any action is taken, he said.
The Commission
A group of like-minded citizens began casually meeting at the home of former Mount Pleasant Town Councilwoman Thomasena Stokes-Marshall. The commission’s goal was to find a headquarters where residents from various communities could have a common connection.
Johnson-Hall Funeral Home owner, Sam Hall, offered up a building on his property where the funeral home was first established by the Johnsons in 1929. The Johnsons ran their funeral home business until 1997. During those years they were a stabilizing presence in the African American community and supported many community initiatives. Peter Johnson was founder of the NAACP in Mount Pleasant and unsuccessfully ran for the Mount Pleasant School Board in 1940. In addition to working in their funeral home Marguerite Johnson, who hired other women to help her, ran a business washing and ironing for soldiers stationed on Sullivan’s Island. After her husband’s death in 1953 she became Mount Pleasant’s first female mortician. The commission felt it fitting to name their new headquarters in the Johnsons’ honor.
The African American Settlement Communities are an important part of the history of this area, in some cases dating back to the Reconstruction Era. In light of the unprecedented growth in the region the AASC Historic Commission, Inc. wants to address and find solutions to counter the demise of African American communities in the Tri-County area.
The 2018 AASC Historic Commission Board Members include Vince Matthews, Larry Holmes, John Wright, Robert McDonald- (Liaison, Mount Pleasant Historical Commission), Pat Sullivan, Rodly Millet, Freddie Jenkins, Thomasena Stokes-Marshall, Joe Palmer, Adriane Smalls-Owen, Merrilee Waters, Richard Habersham, Edward Lee, and Fred Lincoln.
"The African American Settlement Community (AASC) Historic Commission, seeks to establish a collaborative relationship with the Town of Mount Pleasant, Charleston County Councils and Mount Pleasant Waterworks Commissioners, as well as local, state and national preservation agencies/organizations to explore and develop special land use zoning classifications; designed to protect and preserve the Gullah people’s culture, history, traditions and unique community characteristics," Thomasena Stokes-Marshall said. Her home is in Snowden, however was annexed into the Town of Mount Pleasant.
Via this diverse group the commission’s goals are to protect and preserve the existing character of African American settlement communities, to nurture and support a strong sense of community, identity, history, and economic development both within the African American settlement communities and the larger region. This includes the Gullah Geechee Corridor, to support the traditions of land ownership which have connected families with their land for many generations, and to provide resources that will allow harmonious growth including land use regulations that are consistent and compatible with the existing characteristics of the individual African American settlement communities.
Fred Lincoln, a commission member and Cainhoy Community President said that challenges in this area include adjacent development that has escalated property value resulting in increased taxes. "The county lends to the problem at times by over valuing property in our area," he said. "The county treats our traditional community as they would a new subdivision. We are being forced to build paved roads in order to build on our property."
Lincoln has long been active in community affairs and saw this as another opportunity to have a seat at the table.
The problem, however, is that not everyone is getting a seat at the right table.
For example, residents in Phillip, a settlement community off of Highway 41 are fearful of what plans to widen the highway will do to their way of life. And while it is noted in the Charleston Area Transportation Study (CHATS) Long Range Plan that Phillip community members do not want the road widened in their area, community president Richard Habersham said they have been denied a seat at the planning table.
McDonald is working to fix that. "Members of these African American settlement communities are not all at the table and that ultimately has to be one of the goals," McDonald said. "We have to collaborate to address their issues."
"The commission believes that these communities are step kids to the town and the county and their not treating them fairly," Wright said. "Phillip is a perfect example and it is critical that they work with them to advocate for those folks."
On the bright side, citizens and appointed community members are working on recommendations for the Comprehensive Plan Update and African American settlement communities are identified in that plan and considerations and mandatory mitigation toward those communities have been written in.
From culture to language to lifestyle, East Cooper African American Settlement Communities are unique. "And once their gone, they're gone," McDonald said.
"The commission will allow us to have a bigger voice and really craft the language that will protect our communities," Wright said.
"No one is trying to stop development," McDonald said, "but development that destroys cultural assets should be a concern to everyone."
Get involved
"We are fighting from the rear but we are fighting," Wright said. "We are in the battle to save our communities."
There are volunteer opportunities on the commission at the committee level. Anyone interested in learning more can attend their monthly meeting on the fourth Saturday of every month at 440 Venning St. or email John Wright at jwright4223@yahoo.com.
February 15, 2018
John Wright of the African American Settlement Commission met with students at Trident Tech Mount Pleasant this afternoon to discuss the group's initiatives and future plans for involvement in the organization. We are glad to have Trident Tech on board!
