Kumler Hall is a historic

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

that was part of the

Brainerd Institute Brainerd Institute was a school for African Americans in Chester, South Carolina. It was founded by the Presbyterian Church and opened in 1868. Alumni include Vivian Ayers Allen and Daniel Jackson Sanders. Originally an elementary school it serv ...

, in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Chester County, South Carolina Chester County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 32,294. Its county seat is Chester, South Carolina, Chester.Chester County is i ...

. Brainerd Institute was one of the earliest and finest of the many private schools established for African-American

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

in South Carolina in the years just after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The school operated from about 1868 until 1940 by the Board of Missions of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

. Kumler Hall was built about 1916, and is a brick two-story boys dormitory. It has a central longitudinal hallway opening onto the porch, with a central single-flight stairway and classrooms and dormitory rooms opening on either side on both floors and the basement. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1983.

References

External links

African-American history of South Carolina Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Residential buildings completed in 1916 Buildings and structures in Chester County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Chester County, South Carolina {{ChesterCountySC-NRHP-stub