The Faith Cabin Library at Seneca Junior College is a

Faith Cabin Library Faith Cabin Libraries were a system of libraries created in South Carolina and Georgia providing library services to Black Americans who were not allowed to use public libraries because of segregation laws. History This library system was creat ...

built to serve the African American community in

Seneca, South Carolina Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,102 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area (population 74,273 at the 2010 census), an (MSA) that includes ...

. It was built on the campus of the Seneca Junior College. The log cabin library building was named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on November 14, 2012.

Faith Cabin Libraries

In the early 20th century, library access in rural South Carolina was limited. Due to racial segregation, there was essentially no access for African Americans except in Charleston and Columbia. The program of Faith Cabin Libraries for African Americans was conceived by a white mill worker, Willie Lee Buffington, and his African American, childhood friend, Euriah Simpkins, who was a teacher. Books were solicited for the community by writing preachers and requesting donations. A large gift of about 1,000 books was given by a Methodist church in New York. With so many books, the first library in

Saluda, South Carolina Saluda is a town in Saluda County, South Carolina, United States, along the Little Saluda River. The population was 3,565 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saluda County. Geography Saluda is located at (34.003131, -81.771691). Accordi ...

was built by African Americans. It was named the Faith Cabin Library, because one woman said "We didn't have money, all we had was faith." Buffington finished high school and graduated from

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

. Then he taught at the

HBCU Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Benedict College Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across the liberal arts ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

and

Paine College Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

. He expanded the Faith Cabin Library program to Georgia. About thirty libraries were built in South Carolina and about seventy in Georgia. The Faith Cabin Library at Seneca Junior College, the

Faith Cabin Library at Anderson County Training School The Faith Cabin Library at Anderson County Training School in Pendleton, South Carolina was one of the 26 Faith Cabin Libraries constructed in South Carolina to offer library services to rural African Americans who were barred from using other ...

, and the library at

Bettis Academy and Junior College Bettis Academy and Junior College is a historic African-American Baptist school complex and national Historic district (United States), historic district located near Trenton, South Carolina, Trenton, Edgefield County, South Carolina. Bettis Acad ...

are the surviving library buildings in South Carolina. Several former locations of a Faith Cabin Library have historic markers including the first library in Saluda.

Faith Cabin Library at Seneca Junior College

The log cabin library was built in 1937 adjacent to the Seneca Junior College. It is located at 298 South Poplar Street in Seneca. In the Faith Cabin Library system, it was named the Oberlin Unit in honor of the books donated by students of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

. The library was only open for two years due to the closure of Seneca Junior College because of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and the construction of new high school for African Americans in Seneca. The main part of the T-shaped log cabin sits on a stone foundation. The rear wing rests on concrete piers. The building has a gabled roof with a V-crimped metal roof. There are double-hung sash windows on each side of the front door and the stone chimney on the left side, two similar windows on the right side and one on the rear wing. The gables are covered with horizontal wooden planks and have a window. The other buildings of the Seneca Junior College no longer exist. Currently, the Seneca Institute Family Life Center has a brick and metal building, which was built in 1978. It is not included in the NRHP nomination.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina African-American history of South Carolina School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Historically segregated African-American schools in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Oconee County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Oconee County, South Carolina 1937 establishments in South Carolina Seneca, South Carolina