Brewer Normal Institute
Cotton picking on the school farm (c. 1909), Brewer Normal Institute
Location
Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S.
Coordinates	34°11′51″N 82°08′33″W / 34.1976°N 82.1425°W / 34.1976; -82.1425
Information
Former name	Brewer Institute, Brewer School, Brewer Normal School
Type	Private
Established	1872
Closed	June 1970
Affiliation	American Missionary Association

Brewer Normal Institute (1872–1970) ^[1] was a segregated private school for African-Americans in Greenwood, South Carolina. It was named after Reverend Josiah Brewer, a member of the first board of trustees for Brewer. ^[2] After desegregation in 1970, it was succeeded by a public magnet intermediate school named Brewer Middle School. ^[3] Originally named Brewer Institute, and later became Brewer School, and Brewer Normal School.

History

The American Missionary Association (AMA) opened Brewer Normal Institute in 1872 as a boarding school on East Cambridge Street. ^{[4] [5] [6]} The first brick building had been built in 1847 for the former Hodges Institute. ^[7] It was one of a series of schools established by the AMA during the Reconstruction era, after the American Civil War. ^[8]

During Brewer Normal Institute's first year, the school had only one teacher. ^{[1] [4]} It was named for Rev. Josiah Brewer (1796–1872), a minister, and missionary, and member of the school's first board of trustees. Brewer's son, became a principal at the school. By 1897, the school had an enrollment of 280 students and seven teachers, and it was both a boarding and day school. ^{[1] [4]}

The AMA, alongside the black and white community in Greenwood built the Brewer Hospital in hopes of fostering community integration and work towards opening a black public school. ^[8] The hospital was dedicated on May 24, 1924. ^[8] The following year in 1925, Brewer Normal Institute became a public school. ^{[5] [9] [10]}

From 1945 to 1969, Benjamin James Sanders Jr. served as the school’s principal; he had been initially hired a science teacher starting in 1928. ^{[3] [6]}

Archives and legacy

The New York Public Library has a 1909 photograph in their archives of Brewer Normal Institute students picking cotton at the school farm. ^[11] In 2021, the Museum of Greenwoood was organizing an exhibit on the school's history. ^[12] The Emerald Triangle Museum & Rail Center exhibit included photographs and yearbook page from the school as well as images of the hospital. ^[6]

The South Carolina legislature passed a 2002 resolution declaring the school site a historic landmark. ^{[13] [14]}

References

Further reading

• "Brewer Normal Institute". Greenwood Daily Journal. May 13, 1897. p. 27.
• "Greenwood takes over Brewer Normal School". The State. June 8, 1925. p. 9.
• "Trend of Negro Education Gradually Upward". The Greenville News. April 20, 1930. p. 19.
• "Deed to Brewer Normal School has been received and recorded by authorities of local schools". The Index-Journal. December 22, 1935. p. 7.
• Rucker, Alvin (June 4, 1970). "Closing of Brewer High School marks the end of an era". The Index-Journal. p. 13.
• Peyton, Brenda (August 16, 1988). "The Brewer tradition". The Index-Journal. p. 21.
• Woody, Howard; Johnson, Thomas L. (2000). South Carolina Postcards. Vol. 3. Arcadia Publishing. p. 93. ISBN  0-7385-0293-6.
• Richardson, Joe M.; Jones, Maxine D. (2009). Education for Liberation. The University of Alabama Press. p. 105. ISBN  978-0-8173-5848-8.
• "Brewer Middle to move". The Index-Journal. April 16, 2002. pp.  1, 10a.