St. Stephen in Berkeley County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

St. Stephen Colored School
⎯⎯⎯
St. Stephen High School

St. Stephen Colored School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, 2010

1. St. Stephen Colored School Marker

Inscription. St. Stephen Colored School St. Stephen Colored School, the first public African American school in St. Stephen, was built here in 1924-25. A three-room frame building, it was one of almost 500 schools in S.C. funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation 1917-1932. It opened with grades 1-7, but burned in 1935. A brick elementary and high school with grades 1-10 replaced it. Grades 11 and 12 were added in 1936-37 and 1948-49.

St. Stephen High SchoolA nine-room brick high school was constructed here in 1944-45, with Woodrow Z. Wilson as its last principal. It closed in 1954, and its students transferred to the new Russellville High School. The elementary school, with grades 1-7, was replaced by a new St. Stephen Elementary in 1966. The buildings here were torn down in 1965, and their bricks and lumber donated to Allen A.M.E. Church.

Erected 2008 by the Alumni and Friends of St. Stephen Colored Elementary and High School. (Marker Number 8-51.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and the Rosenwald Schools series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1935.

Location.

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33° 24′ N, 79° 55.605′ W. Marker is in St. Stephen, South Carolina, in Berkeley County. It is at the intersection of Russellville Road (State Highway 8-18) and Cedar Drive, on the left when traveling west on Russellville Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Stephen SC 29479, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Lowcountry

and in Santee Cooper Country.

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 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: St. Stephen (White) High School (approx. 0.3 miles away); St. Stephens Veterans Monument (approx. 0.6 miles away); L. Mendel Rivers House (approx. 0.7 miles away); St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (approx. 0.7 miles away); DeWitt Williams Bridge (approx. 1.9 miles away); S.C.O.P.E. Freedom House (approx. 4.1 miles away); Thomas Walter (approx. 4.3 miles away); Maham Plantation (approx. 5.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Stephen.

St. Stephen High School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 30, 2010

2. St. Stephen High School Marker

St. Stephen Colored School / St. Stephen High School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 30, 2010

3. St. Stephen Colored School / St. Stephen High School Marker

Looking west along Russellville Road

St. Stephen Colored School / St. Stephen High School Marker, looking east image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, March 30, 2010

4. St. Stephen Colored School / St. Stephen High School Marker, looking east

Credits. This page was last revised on December 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 30, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,853 times since then and 66 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 31, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

St. Stephen Colored School⎯⎯⎯St. Stephen High School

St. Stephen Colored School
⎯⎯⎯
St. Stephen High School