Brainerd Institute Marker

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Chester in Chester County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Brainerd Institute

By Michael Sean Nix, December 8, 2008

1. Brainerd Institute Marker

Inscription. This institute grew out of an 1866 school for freedmen; it became Brainerd Institute in 1868 when the Board of Missions of the Presbyterian Church in New York appointed Rev. Samuel Loomis to help establish churches and schools among the blacks near Chester. At first an elementary school. Brainerd grew to ten grades by 1913 and was a four-year high school by the 1920s. Renamed Brainerd Junior College about 1935, it emphasized teacher training until it closed in 1939.

Erected 1997 by Chester Middle School Junior Beta Club. (Marker Number 12-10.)

Location. 34° 42.33′ N, 81° 11.904′ W. Marker is in Chester, South Carolina, in Chester County. Marker is at the intersection of Lancaster Street (State Highway 9) and Wilson Street, on the left when traveling east on Lancaster Street. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chester SC 29706, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, as the crow flies. World War Soldiers (approx. 0.8 miles away); Monument Square (approx. 0.8 miles away); Chester County Courthouse (approx. 0.8 miles away); Chester Confederate Monument (approx. 0.8 miles away); Aaron Burr Rock (approx. 0.9 miles away); Original Site of Purity Presbyterian Church (approx. 1.8 miles away); Wilbur G. Grant Reservoir of Chester Metropolitan District (approx. 7.3 miles away); “Thirteen Original Colonies Bicentennial Covered Wagon Train” (approx. 7.4 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Chester.

Brainerd Institute Stone Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Michael Sean Nix, December 8, 2008

2. Brainerd Institute Stone Marker

More about this marker. Marker is located at Lancaster Street & Wilson Street. A stone marker is located on the old school property at Cemetery Street & Marquis Street. Kumler Hall is located at Marquis Street and Bailey Street.

Also see . . .
1. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. (Submitted on December 8, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina.)
2. African American Historical Sites. (Submitted on December 8, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina.)
3. New York Times Piece. (Submitted on December 8, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina.)
4. Vivian Ayers. (Submitted on December 8, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina.)

Additional comments.
1. Brainered Institute Alumnus
I can remember my mother talking about the institute. her name was Lela Mae Wilson (Rita) and she talked about Brainered with pride. I have a picture of her and her friends standing in front of the building. She was one of many persons proud of her school and her heritage, being an alumnus of Penn School on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. She was born June 5, 1923, and passed September 29,2001.

— Submitted January 28, 2012, by Karen Linda Hamilton of Clayton, New Jersey.

By Michael Sean Nix, December 8, 2008

3. Kumler Hall

By Michael Sean Nix, December 8, 2008

4. Kumler Hall

By Michael Sean Nix, December 8, 2008

5. Kumler Hall

Rear View

Credits. This page originally submitted on December 8, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,033 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 8, 2008, by Michael Sean Nix of Spartanburg, South Carolina. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.