School Days in the Waxhaws Marker

HMdb.org

THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE “Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”

Home — My Markers — Add A Marker — Marker Series — Links & Books — Forum — About Us

Word or Phrase

Add Photo — Add Link — Add Commentary — Correct this page — Print

Van Wyck in Lancaster County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

School Days in the Waxhaws

By Michael Sean Nix, October 28, 2009

1. School Days in the Waxhaws Marker

Inscription. When Andrew Jackson was a boy, he attended log-cabin schools much like this replica. In this backcountry region of devout, hard working Scotch-Irish immigrants, most children learned enough at local "common" schools to read the Bible and run their farms. Ambitious parents like Andrew's mother, Elizabeth, paid a schoolmaster for advanced classes at Waxhaw Academy. Here Andy and his classmates studied Greek and Latin as preparation for careers in law, medicine, or the church. In 1780-81, the Revolutionary War devastated the Waxhaws. An orphan and wounded ex-prisoner-of-war by age 14, Andrew finished school in the nearby New Acquisition District, then moved to North Carolina to study law.

Erected by South Carolina State Park Service.

Location. 34° 50.454′ N, 80° 48.426′ W. Marker is in Van Wyck, South Carolina, in Lancaster County. Marker is on Andrew Jackson State Park Road 0.3 miles east of U.S. 521. Click for map. Marker is in Andrew Jackson State Park. Marker is in this post office area: Van Wyck SC 29744, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Heart of the Community (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Birthplace of Andrew Jackson Monument (about 300 feet away); Jackson Comes Home (about 300 feet away); The Boy of the Waxhaws (about 300 feet away); Birthplace of Andrew Jackson (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Birthplace of Andrew Jackson (approx. 0.3 miles away); Major Crawford's Home (approx. 0.5 miles away); Boundary Line (approx. 0.9 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Van Wyck.

By Michael Sean Nix, October 28, 2009

2. School Days in the Waxhaws Marker

The Waxhaw Academy was a log schoolhouse next to the Meeting House where boys studied the under the direction of William Humphries and later James White Stephenson at the only backcountry academy.