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

Benjamin E. Mays Birthplace

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2023

1. Benjamin E. Mays Birthplace Marker

Inscription. (Front) This house, originally 14 mi. SE on U.S. Hwy. 178 in the Epworth community, was the birthplace of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays (1894-1984), Baptist minister, college president, author, and civil rights pioneer. Mays was the eighth child of Hezekiah and Louvenia Mays, both born into slavery. In 1911 he left the tenant farm where this house stood to attend high school at S.C. State College in Orangeburg. (Continued on other side) (Reverse) (Continued from other side) Mays, a graduate of Bates College and the University of Chicago, was an early and forceful opponent of segregation. Best known as president of Morehouse College, in Atlanta, 1940-1967, Mays was described by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as his “spiritual mentor.” Mays’s inspiring memoir Born To Rebel (1971) is a civil rights classic. This house was moved here, renovated, and dedicated as a museum in 2011.

Erected 2012 by Sponsored by the Mays House Museum. (Marker Number 24 19.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1911.

Location. 34° 11.992′ N, 82° 8.627′ W. Marker is in

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Greenwood, South Carolina, in Greenwood County. It can be reached from North Hospital Street north of Brewer Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 237 North Hospital Street, Greenwood SC 29646, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays (a few steps from this marker); Gleamns (a few steps from this marker); Lynching in America / The Phoenix Massacre (a few steps from this marker); Dr. Benjamin James Sanders, Jr. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Old Greenwood Cemetery (approx. 0.6 miles away); Mount Pisgah A.M.E. Church (approx. 0.8 miles away); Magnolia Cemetery (approx. 0.9 miles away); Greenwood SC Memorial Marker (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Greenwood.

Benjamin E. Mays Birthplace Marker (Back) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2023

2. Benjamin E. Mays Birthplace Marker (Back)

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2023

3. Benjamin E. Mays Birthplace Marker

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2023

4. Benjamin E. Mays Birthplace Marker

Dr. Benjamin E. Mays image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, December 30, 2023

5. Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 1, 2024, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 328 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 1, 2024, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.