Mayesville in Sumter County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Goodwill School

Photographed By Dave W, May 29, 2023

1. Goodwill School Marker, Side One

Inscription.
(side 1)
Goodwill School was established by missionaries from the Northern Presbyterian Church shortly after the Civil War. The school served freed people and their children. In an 1872 report, the Committee on Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church reported that Goodwill School served 350 students and was one of the most active Presbyterian parochial schools in South Carolina. (Continued on other side) (side 2) (Continued from other side) The building that stands today was built about 1890. The Presbyterian Church continued to sponsor the school until 1933. Goodwill Presbyterian Church continued to operate the school until it was consolidated with Sumter Co. Public School District 2 in 1960. Throughout its history Goodwill School provided education to African American students from Sumter Co. and beyond.

Erected 2019 by Sumter County Historical Commission. (Marker Number 43-54.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Churches & Religion • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1872.

Location. 33° 54.722′ N, 80° 8.962′ W. Marker is in Mayesville, South Carolina, in Sumter County

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. Marker is on Brick Church Road (South Carolina Route 527) 0.4 miles north of Myrtle Beach Highway (U.S. 378), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 221 Brick Church Rd, Mayesville SC 29104, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. " Ebenezer " (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Goodwill Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. (about 500 feet away); Salem (Black River) Presbyterian Church (approx. 1.6 miles away); Concord Presbyterian Church (approx. 4.2 miles away); Birthplace of Mary McLeod Bethune (approx. 5.9 miles away); St. Paul African American Methodist Episcopal Church (approx. 5.9 miles away); The Mayesville Story (approx. 6.2 miles away); Beulah School (approx. 6.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mayesville.

Also see . . . Goodwill Cultural Center. Website for the current use as a cultural center providing a history of the building and school.

Goodwill Day School (later called Goodwill Parochial School), a late nineteenth and early-twentieth century parochial school for blacks in Sumter County, was established during Reconstruction, probably soon after Goodwill Presbyterian Church was founded in 1867. It was built in 1890 and was used as a school until the early 1960s serving elementary and high school students

Goodwill School Marker, Side Two image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dave W, May 29, 2023

2. Goodwill School Marker, Side Two

(Submitted on May 30, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado.)

Goodwill School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dave W, May 29, 2023

3. Goodwill School Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 30, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. This page has been viewed 108 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 30, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.