Asbury Manual Labor School was an

American Indian boarding school American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid 17th to the early 20th centuries with a primary objective of "civilizing" or assimilating Na ...

near

Fort Mitchell, Alabama Fort Mitchell is an unincorporated community in Russell County, Alabama, United States. The settlement developed around a garrisoned fort intended to provide defense for the area during the Creek War (1813–14). Fort Mitchell is about 10 miles ...

. Founded by the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

, and named for

Francis Asbury Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States, he devoted his life to ...

, it opened in 1822 and closed in 1830, when the Creek were forcibly removed to Oklahoma.

History

Fort Mitchell was a military fort and then a trading post, built in 1813, while the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

was going on. The reverend William Capers was sent there by the United Methodist Church to missionize among the Creek. Negotiations with the local chiefs led to his opening the Asbury Manual Labor School and Mission in 1822, one mile north of Fort Mitchell near Coweta, an Indian village; Creek children were to learn how to read and write and acquire other skills. The reverend Isaac Smith was the first teacher, and worked there until he retired in 1829; when the school opened it had a dozen students, and would average between 35 and 50 students. It quickly got three teachers and a 25-acre farm. It closed in 1830, when the Creek were forcibly removed to Oklahoma. One notable student was Samuel Checote. Nothing remains of the school; the location is a United Methodist Landmark, and there is a historical marker "at the entrance to the Fort Mitchell Park", next to

Fort Mitchell National Cemetery Fort Mitchell National Cemetery is one of the 130 United States National Cemeteries, located in Fort Mitchell, Alabama, adjacent to the state-owned and operated Fort Mitchell Park. It has interred approximately 5,000 individual since it officiall ...

. The archives of

Columbus State University Columbus State University is a public university in Columbus, Georgia. Founded as Columbus College in 1958, the university was established and is administered by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. History The university w ...

in Georgia holds a founding document (the agreement between Capers and the Creek chiefs) and a booklet, ''Asbury Manual Labor School-Asbury Mission School; Lost pages from Methodism's Story'' by Marynell S. Waite.

References

{{reflist 1822 establishments in Alabama Native American boarding schools