Winston-Salem in Forsyth County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Waughtown Freedmen's School

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 13, 2023

1. Waughtown Freedmen's School Marker

Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission Historic Marker Program website entry
Click for more information.

Inscription.
During Reconstruction, the Freedmen's Bureau helped establish 431 schools across the South to educate over 20,000 African American men, women, and children. Education was widely seen as the way for African Americans to achieve social, economic, and political equality. Founded in November 1866, the Freedmen's School in Waughtown was the first established in Forsyth County. It offered day, night, and Sabbath classes. Local freedmen organized the school without any charitable support, owned the school building, and hired William G. Kerner to teach. The school was located on the “Church and School House lot” near the homeplace of Harris Fries off Waughtown Street.

Erected 2022 by City of Winston-Salem • Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission. (Marker Number 66.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. A significant historical month for this entry is November 1866.

Location. 36° 4.141′ N, 80° 12.995′ W. Marker is in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in Forsyth County. It is at the intersection of Waughtown Street and Colony Street, on the right when traveling east on Waughtown Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1140 Waughtown St, Winston Salem NC 27107, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont

and specifically in Piedmont Triad.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper 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

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Colored Baptist Orphanage Home (approx. 0.6 miles away); Nissen Wagon Works (approx. 0.7 miles away); Daniel Boone Trail (approx. 0.7 miles away); Easton Neighborhood (approx. 0.8 miles away); Salem and Liberia, Africa (approx. 1.3 miles away); North Carolina School of the Arts (approx. 1.4 miles away); The Brothers' Spring and The African School (approx. 1.4 miles away); Happy Hill (approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Winston-Salem.

Additional commentary.
1. Former Site
There is a marker on the corner of Sprague and Marble Street that states "Former Site of Waughtown Elementary 1920-1976". Is thisthe same school? If not, which school.

— Submitted January 14, 2026, by Johnetta Perry of Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Waughtown Freedmen's School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 13, 2023

2. Waughtown Freedmen's School Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on January 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 10, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 597 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 10, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.