Trinity School
Fort Henderson and Trinity School
Trinity School relocated to Fort Henderson in 1908. Trinity Congregational Church followed in 1930. Passersby often heard hymns and joyful praise resonating from the buildings. For more than a century, Trinity reflected Mary Wells's emphasis on education and religion. From Trinity's earliest days, students spent their summers teaching in the sheds, brush arbors and rustic churches of Limestone County. Trinity graduates Lavinia Harris Williams, Datie Miller Bridgeforth, and Ella Thomason Brandon became the first African Americans on Trinity's faculty. Alumnus George Ruffin: Bridgeforth taught at Tuskegee Institute, and rose to head of the agriculture department. By 1882, former Trinity student B.F. Foster had graduated from Talladega College and pastored First Congregational Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Scores of Trinity students followed in Foster's footsteps, filling pulpits in this community and all over the country. From its establishment in 1865 until the implementation of Freedom of Choice in 1965, Trinity was the only school in Limestone County where African Americans received
this page online
[Photo captions:]
Middle: Trinity met initially in the white Baptist church, moving by 1867
into an old house. When that building became uninhabitable,
members of the Trinity School Society made bricks by hand for this
new edifice, completed in 1882 and located by the train passenger
depot. It burned in 1907. American Missionary Association Magazine
Top right: Wells Cottage, completed in 1910, was named in honor of Trinity's founder, Mary Fletcher Wells. Located on the fort site, it served as the Teachers Home until the late 1960s. Trinity Collection at the Limestone County Archives
Bottom right: Graduates of Trinity School in 1897. Datie Miller Bridgforth sits on the front row, second from left. Courtesy of Mr. Meredith Scott
Erected 2020 by American Battlefield Trust & Paul Bryant Jr.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education
Location. 34° 47.856′ N, 86° 58.822′ W. Marker is in Athens, Alabama, in Limestone County. It is on Trinity Circle north of Browns Ferry Street (County Road 29), on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 606 Trinity Cir, Athens AL 35611, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama and in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Reconstruction (a few steps from this marker); Coleman Hill (within shouting distance of this marker); Prisoners of War (within shouting distance of this marker); The United State Colored Troops (within shouting distance of this marker); The Battles of Fort Henderson and Sulphur Creek Trestle (within shouting distance of this marker); Mary Fletcher Wells (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Henderson / Trinity School - 1865-1970 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Coleman Family (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Athens.
Also see . . .
1. Athens' Trinity Congregational Church at 142nd anniversary in 2013. (Submitted on October 18, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. From USCT Fort to African American School in Athens, Alabama. (Submitted on October 18, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 25, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 18, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,166 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 18, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
