Woodstock Township near Addison in Lenawee County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Woodstock Manual Labor Institute

Photographed By Joel Seewald, August 18, 2010

1. Woodstock Manual Labor Institute Marker

Inscription. Prior Foster, an Ohio Negro, began this school "in the woods" in 1844 and four years later it was incorporated. Designed to serve "colored people and others," the Institute taught a full range of subjects and was one of the nation's first integrated schools. The students worked in the fields and orchards to help support the school. Soon eight buildings were on the grounds. More than fifty students were in attendance, using a library of two thousand volumes. A fire in 1855 destroyed the main building, and the school was discontinued during the Civil War. The educational pioneering was continued by Foster's grandson, Dr. Laurence Jones, founder of the well-known Piney Woods School in Mississippi in 1909.

Erected 1970 by Michigan Historical Commission and Detroit Voice of Piney Woods School. (Marker Number S297.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1844.

Location. 42° 0.216′ N, 84° 20.712′ W. Marker is near Addison, Michigan, in Lenawee County. It is in Woodstock Township. Marker is on Greenleaf Road, 0.2 miles east of U.S. 127, on the left when

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traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 18123 Greenleaf Road, Addison MI 49220, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Clearwater Beach Entrance (approx. 3.3 miles away); Somerset General Store (approx. 3½ miles away); Rollin Township Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.8 miles away); W. H. L. McCourtie / W. H. L. McCourtie Estate (approx. 4.6 miles away); Wooden Stone School (approx. 6.1 miles away); Michigan International Speedway: (approx. 6.6 miles away); At the Crossroads (approx. 7.3 miles away); Cambridge Junction Historic State Park (approx. 7.4 miles away).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Prior Foster was a well known Underground Railroad agent, as seen on this marker in Coshocton County, Ohio.

Also see . . . Prior Foster.

Prior (sometimes spelled Prier) Foster was born around 1798 in Pennsylvania. In 1844 he founded the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute in Woodstock, Lenawee County, Michigan, which was officially chartered by the Michigan state legislature in 1848. Foster faced racial persecution in his home state and moved to the west “in exile,” in the hopes of securing greater equality for himself
Photographed By Joel Seewald, August 18, 2010

2. Woodstock Manual Labor Institute Marker
and his children. He opened the Woodstock Institute in Michigan because African Americans had greater rights there, and Foster wanted the school to educate “colored people and others.”

(Submitted on April 12, 2023, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 17, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 21, 2010, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 1,562 times since then and 233 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 21, 2010, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.