Walterboro in Colleton County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Colleton Training School
⎯⎯⎯
Gruber Street USO

Colleton Training School side of the marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 23, 2026

1. Colleton Training School side of the marker

Inscription.
Colleton Training School. Colleton Training School opened in 1925 and served African American students in the elementary and high school grades. In 1954 it was renamed Colleton High and remained in use until 1970 when Colleton County schools were desegregated. During World War II the school was temporary home of the USO established for use by black servicemen, including the Tuskegee Airmen, who were trained at Walterboro Army Airfield.

Gruber Street USO. In 1944 a federal grant funded the construction of a purpose-built USO for black servicemen. Built adjacent to the original Colleton Training School it included an auditorium and dance floor. The USO hosted weekly dances, live music, and games. It was necessary to have a USO for black soldiers because other facilities in Walterboro were segregated and did not admit black troops. After the war the school was repurposed for use by Colleton Training School.

Erected 2019 by South Carolina Department of Archives and History; sponsored by the Colleton Training School/Colleton High School Alumni Association, Inc. (Marker Number 15-22.)

Topics and series. This historical

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marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Air & Space • Education • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Tuskegee Airmen series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1925.

Location. 32° 54.534′ N, 80° 39.072′ W. Marker is in Walterboro, South Carolina, in Colleton County. It is at the intersection of Gruber Street and Ackerman Street, on the right when traveling west on Gruber Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 229 Gruber St, Walterboro SC 29488, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South Carolina’s Lowcountry,

in the Ashepoo and Combahee and Edisto Basin.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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 New Spain,

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

Gruber Street USO side of the marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 23, 2026

2. Gruber Street USO side of the marker

least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Bethel Presbyterian Church (approx. half a mile away); St. Peter’s A.M.E. Church (approx. half a mile away); St. Jude’s Episcopal Church (approx. half a mile away); Hickory Valley (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Hickory Valley (approx. 0.6 miles away); Walterborough Library Society (approx. 0.6 miles away); Walterborough Academy (approx. ¾ mile away); Colleton Rural Fire Department Charter Members (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Walterboro.

Colleton Training School / Gruber Street USO Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 23, 2026

3. Colleton Training School / Gruber Street USO Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 1, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 13 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 1, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A photo of the building. • Can you help?

Colleton Training School⎯⎯⎯Gruber Street USO

Colleton Training School
⎯⎯⎯
Gruber Street USO