• 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
  • VOLUNTEERS
  • SPONSORS
  • DONATE
  • Subscribe!

Elisha School

SC PICTURE PROJECT 3 Comments

SC Picture Project / Newberry County / Elisha School

Following the Civil War, various schools were established for the children of former slaves with the help of the Freedman’s Bureau, a federal agency formed to assist African-Americans. These schools were called Freedmen’s Schools. A notice from the September 11, 1867, edition of the Newberry Journal advertised a Legislative Act to establish a Freedmen’s School in Newberry at the next state legislative meeting. However, the legislature did not reconvene that year, due to political chaos during this early period of Reconstruction.

Elisha School

James (Jim) Jenkins of Chesterfield, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Nonetheless, Freedmen’s Schools were in place in Newberry by the following year. Records indicate that 13 teachers – two of whom were white – were hired to teach the black students of Newberry County between 1868 and 1870. In contrast, 58 teachers were hired to teach white students. Early records show that an Elisha Church School, a free school in the Newberry community of Silverstreet, was operating by 1869.

Elisha School Newberry County

James (Jim) Jenkins of Chesterfield, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Between 1917 and 1932 Julius Rosenwald, then the president of Sears and Roebuck, contributed funds to building moderns schools for rural African-American students in the South; the remaining funds would come from the local black and white communities and from public funds. This school shown on this page, built as the Elisha School, was erected in 1927 with the help of Rosenwald funds. It possibly replaced the first Elisha Church School.

Elisha Freedmens School

James (Jim) Jenkins of Chesterfield, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Elisha School continued through the segregated 1950s, with white students attending school at nearby Silverstreet School. According to contributor Jim Jenkins, who did his student teaching at Silverstreet School in 1959, Elisha School “was located right on Highway 121 and 34 and was really a dangerous location for a school.”

The school board decided to build a new school in a different location, and sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s Elisha School was replaced with the Reuben School, which still operates as Reuben Elementary School.

The school board accepted sealed bids for the purchasing of the former Elisha School property and its buildings. The Senn brothers, local owners of a trucking company, bought the property and made use of its three buildings. One building was given to a friend for use as a barn. It is no longer standing. Another building was gutted and used by the Senns as a garage. The brothers replaced the garage with a new building in the 1970s and moved the former garage. Whether or not it remains extant is undetermined. The final building, pictured above, still stands on the property and is used for storage.

The South Carolina Picture Project thanks Jim Jenkins for the above photos and much of the information.

Plan Your Trip: Elisha School

Where is Elisha School located?
Address: 2699 South Carolina Highway 34 121, Silverstreet, SC 29108
GPS Coordinates: 34.214106,-81.694233
What else should I see?
Silverstreet Lutheran Church 1.7 miles
Silverstreet School 2 miles
Hannah Rosenwald School 6.7 miles
Harris Street Bridge 9.3 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Rosenwald Schools
  • See other South Carolina Schools
    Elisha School Map

    Please Donate

    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 contribution, big or small, is so valuable. If you have enjoyed this page or found it helpful, please pitch in. Even donation helps – and it only takes a minute. Thank you!

    Support the SC Picture Project!

    $1,045 of $7,500 raised
    $ 20.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Donation Total: $20.00

    Related posts:

    Hope SchoolHope School Community Center Hannah Rosenwald SchoolHannah Rosenwald School Default ThumbnailRetreat Rosenwald School St. George RosenwaldSt. George Rosenwald School Mount Joshua Rosenwald SchoolMount Joshua Rosenwald School

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mary A. Moses says

      August 6, 2019 at 11:07 AM

      I went to Reuben Elementary back in the day. I have been trying to find pictures and any other information.

      Reply
    2. Tom Taylor says

      April 2, 2016 at 12:43 PM

      This school is a classic Rosenwald School design. It's a four-teacher community school "Nashville" design. This particular school was designed to face east-west.

      Rosenwald Schools were designed with different configurations depending on whether or not they faced east-west, or north-south so as to maximize the amount of light coming into the classrooms.

      Reply
    3. Marcellaus A. Joiner says

      May 30, 2014 at 3:00 PM

      Is there a listing of students who attended this school and if so where can it be located?

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

    Primary Sidebar

    FIND A LANDMARK

    Your Email Here

    Help Keep This Site Online

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

    $1,045 of $7,500 raised
    $ 20.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Donation Total: $20.00

    Recent Posts

    • Strand Theater
    • Camden Depot
    • Charleston City Marina
    • Secession Hill
    • Faris Store

    Our Sponsor

    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. If there is no link, contact us and we will do our best to help.

    SIGN UP

    Subscribe here to receive the “SC Photo of the Week” in your inbox! Each Tuesday, we highlight a different South Carolina landmark. Emails include the landmark’s history, its location and a map, and of course, incredible photos!

    South Carolina Picture Project © 2021 · All Rights Reserved