Woodworth Cottage

Woodworth Cottage. Freedmen's School in New Market. , The building in front of you served as a Freedmen's School for African American children after the Civil War. It was constructed circa 1870 by town resident Jessie Rupert, who operated a day and boarding school here for white children, known as the Cottage Institute, and a night school for black children known as the Woodworth Cottage Institute., An ardent pro-Unionist in an overwhelmingly pro-Confederate town, Jessie had moved to New Market in 1858 to become principal of the New Market Female Seminary. But in 1867 she was widowed with two small children - and soon, without a home, as she was ousted as principal of the seminary and evicted. Undaunted, she was able to build the Cottage Institute with financial assistance from the Freedmen's Bureau, the American Missionary Society, and members of the 34th Massachusetts Infantry who fought in the Battle of New Market., The Freedmen's Bureau, created by Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South after the Civil War, established and helped support schools to teach African Americans. In an April 1870 report to the Bureau, Jessie stated that she had 29 "colored" students and 17 white students., On February 22, 1870, Jessie and her students hung an American flag from the attic window to celebrate George Washington's Birthday. When Ku Klux Klan members came to take down the flag, a forewarned Jessie greeted them at the door with a loaded revolver. Nervous but determined, she declared that the first man who tried to take in the flag, "would likely be a dead man." Wisely believing her, they promptly left., The Institute soon closed due to declining funding and enrollment. Jessie continued to reside here until her death in 1909, supporting herself by giving lectures about her experiences in northern states., (Captions):, Historic image of Woodworth Cottage, Jessie Rupert in her later years, This 1866 drawing by artist James Taylor shows a Freedman's School in Richmond. Originally published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, November 17, 1866. , Image courtesy of Library of Congress., This marker was made possible through the generosity of the Society for Women and the Civil War.