• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SC Picture Project

The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

  • FIND A LANDMARK
    • BY CITY
    • BY COUNTY
    • BY CATEGORY
    • BYGONE LANDMARKS
  • ADD IMAGES
  • VOLUNTEER
  • SPONSORS
  • DONATE

Cherry Hill Classroom

SC PICTURE PROJECT 4 Comments

SC Picture Project / Berkeley County / Cherry Hill Classroom

The historic Cherry Hill Classroom – located along a quiet country road just a few miles from Moncks Corner in Berkeley County – dates to 1876 and once served African-American students from first grade through sixth grade. Originally led by teachers Aaron Cooper and St. Julien (also spelled St. Julian) Middleton, the small school was built on land donated by John Campbell. Early students lacked desks and instead completed work on their laps while siting on benches or the floor.

Cherry Hill Classroom

Brandon Coffey of Charleston, 2018 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

By the 1920s, attendance at the Cherry Hill Classroom had grown enough to merit a one-room addition. Mary Ann Cooper donated the extra land, and the first teachers in the expanded school were Daisy Pasley and Pansy Cooper. Cherry Hill became a public school in the twentieth century and operated until the mid-1950s, when many rural schools in South Carolina were consolidated as a means for state government to provide “separate but equal” facilities and thus forestall integration. The Cherry Hill Classroom closed after the 1954-1955 school year.

Cherry Hill School

Brandon Coffey of Charleston, 2015 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The school sat abandoned and in disrepair for years before a group of former Cherry Hill students, who remain residents of the community, undertook its restoration. In 2003 Ethel Hill, Juanita Lee Hamilton, Edward Fashion, Alma Brown, and Flora and David Gethers, among others, formed a task force to preserve the dilapidated schoolhouse. The group succeeded, and by 2011 the historic building had been rechristened the Cherry Hill Community Center. It is now used as a gathering place for locals as well as a landmark for visitors in search of African-American history.

The restoration did not include the addition of a bathroom, however, as such a facility was not original to the school. Instead, Berkley County received a $20,000 grant to build a separate restroom facility, which is expected to bring more people to the school for meetings as well as for historical study.

The Cherry Hill Classroom is Berkeley County’s only former one-room schoolhouse to remain in its original location. The other two extant one-room schoolhouses have both been moved. Whitesville School is now located within Old Santee Canal Park, and Cordesville Schoolhouse has been moved to Kensington Plantation in Huger and renovated as a residence.

Cherry Hill Classroom – Oral History


The following excerpt comes from an oral history document compiled by the Berkeley County Library’s Ramona Lynn Grimsley. Mr. David Aaron Gethers, an African-American man from rural Berkeley County, shares memories of his life growing up in rural South Carolina. The following refers to the Cherry Hill Classroom:

Cherry Hill Classroom was diagonally across the street from my Moomah’s house. Moomah donated part of the land for the classroom. The building served as the church and the school. The Classroom had a steeple with a bell. When the bell was rung, it almost always meant there was a death in the community. It was an alert for everyone to come to the church. A very few had a telephone so this was the only way to get in touch with everybody.

Cherry Hill School in Berkeley County

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Cherry Hill Classroom also served as our church. We went to prayer service on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings. Early on Sunday mornings we would go to the service at the Cherry Hill Classroom. It was more like Sunday school. I remember the singing and the organ. I can’t recall any of the songs, though. There was a lot of praying. Church always seemed to last too long.

Cherry Hill School in Moncks Corner, SC

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

After Sunday school, we went to the big church in Macbeth, Mt. Carmel (the site is under the lake now). We walked the six or seven miles. There was an organ at this church, too. People got dressed up to come to church. We had Sunday clothes and shined our shoes for church. Our clothes were not expensive, but you had better not play in them.

Cherry Hill School in Moncks Corner

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Each family went to their own home for dinner after church. On Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s the whole community would have “dinner on the ground” at the Cherry Hill Classroom.

Cherry Hill School and Church

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The classroom was on the left side of the building. Students had to supply the firewood for the big woodstove. There was no such thing as a lunchroom. My mother supplied a lunch for all the children and the teacher, about thirty in all. She made cornbread, sweet potatoes and soup for us. She was not paid. She looked on it as her charity work. One teacher taught four or five grades all at the same time. I remember I was good at spelling and not so good with arithmetic.

Plan Your Trip: Cherry Hill Classroom

Where is Cherry Hill Classroom located?
Address: 1386 Old Cherry Hill Road, Moncks Corner, SC 29461
GPS Coordinates: 33.228693,-79.942895
What else should I see?
Biggin Church Ruins 2.9 miles
Old Santee Canal Park 4.8 miles
Lake Moultrie 5.6 miles
Richard Roper, Jr. Grocery 6 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Churches
  • Moncks Corner Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina Schools
    Cherry Hill Classroom Map

    Please Help Us Stay Online

    We’d like thank everyone who generously supports the South Carolina Picture Project. You provide us with the inspiration and financial support we need to keep doing what we do. Every reader’s contribution, larger or small, is valuable. If you have enjoyed this website or found it helpful, please pitch in. Each donation helps – and it only takes a minute. Thank you!

    Support the SC Picture Project!

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    You may also like

    You may also like

    Mepkin GateMepkin Abbey Biggin Church RuinsBiggin Church Ruins Pineville ChapelPineville Chapel Catholic Hill Church - St. James the Greater CatholicSt. James the Greater Catholic Church St. John's PinopolisSt. John’s Baptist Church

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Delores Grimes says

      February 9, 2019 at 10:49 AM

      I am looking forward to visiting with y’all today.

      Reply
    2. Mattie P. Sanders says

      December 17, 2018 at 9:18 PM

      How insightful and educational. I am honored to have been asked to present a Black History oral and visual presentation at the school on February 9th from 2:00pm-4:00pm. See you there.
      Mattie P. Sanders; Executive Director of
      B.R. I. G. H.T. Historical Organization, Inc.

      Reply
      • SC Picture Project says

        December 17, 2018 at 11:03 PM

        That is wonderful and such a worthy place to give a presentation, congratulations!

        Reply
      • Yvonne C KnightCarter says

        June 9, 2020 at 4:02 PM

        Thank you, Ms. Sanders, we enjoyed having you so much.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    FIND A LANDMARK

    Why This Site Matters

    Help Keep This Site Online

    We depend on the support of today’s readers to document South Carolina’s landmarks for future readers. Please help us continue this important work by making a donation below.

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    Recent Posts

    • H.L. Hunley
    • Strand Theater
    • Camden Depot
    • Charleston City Marina
    • Secession Hill

    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

    Footer

    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

    CONTACT US

    We’d love to hear from you! Send us a quick email at share@scpictureproject.org.

    If you are looking for permission to use a photo, please reach out directly to the photographer listed in the image’s credit.

    JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

    The South Carolina Picture Project has two Facebook groups. One is dedicated to SC Historic Landmarks and Iconic Landscapes, and the other is dedicated to SC Nature and Wildlife.

    South Carolina Picture Project © 2023 · All Rights Reserved