Swayne College, founded as the Swayne School, was a school for African American students in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. The school operated from 1868 to 1937. Built in 1865 and dedicated in 1869, it was named for General

Wager Swayne Wager can refer to: Gambling * Wager, the amount of a valuable staked when gambling on an event with an uncertain outcome, with the primary intent of winning money or material goods * Legal wager, required by both parties at the preliminary hearin ...

who led the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in Alabama after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and later oversaw the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...

in the state. He helped establish schools for African Americans in Alabama.

History

The school was located at 632 Union Street, near Grove Street, on a site submitted by Elijah Cook and was run by the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

. George Stanley Pope was the school's first principal. Its first African American principal was Charles Duncan, a graduate of

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

. Richard Bailey writes that the school was among the first to utilize the "bush school" strategy, where educators sent the school's best students into the community to teach other African-American children. Tuition for Montgomery students was free, those from neighboring areas paid $1. Swayne College was demolished in 1948 and succeeded on the same site in 1949 by the Booker T. Washington School, Montgomery's first high school for African Americans. The community's schools later included Booker T. Washington Magnet High School, a successor to George Washington Carver High School, and the Carver Creative and Performing Arts Center (CCPAC). A historical marker commemorates the schools' site.

References

{{Reflist Schools in Montgomery, Alabama Defunct schools in Alabama Historically segregated African-American schools in Alabama Educational institutions established in 1865 Educational institutions disestablished in 1948

History

See also

References