Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Howard School Site

Photographed by Mike Stroud, 2011

1. Howard School Site Marker

Inscription. Established after the Civil War, this public school for blacks was located at the NW corner of Hampton & Lincoln streets by 1869 and was partially supported by the Freedmen's Bureau. It is said the school was named for Oliver O. Howard, commissioner of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands during Reconstruction. Moved here in 1924, Howard School was for many years the only public school for blacks in Columbia.

Erected 1988 by The Howard School Community Club and the Arsenal Hill Concerned Citizens Club. (Marker Number 40-111.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the South Carolina Historical Markers series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1869.

Location. 34° 0.31′ N, 81° 3′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. It is on Laurel Street near Williams Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Midlands.

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 walking distance of this marker: The Allie Scollon Puppetry Center (within shouting distance of this marker); Historic Columbia Canal

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(about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); In Memory of the Irish Who Built the Canal (approx. ¼ mile away); Irish Canal Workers (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Historic Columbia Canal (approx. ¼ mile away); Waterworks (approx. ¼ mile away); Riverfront Park (approx. ¼ mile away); Richard Samuel Roberts House (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.

Regarding Howard School Site. Oliver Otis Howard
Known as the "Christian general" because he tried to base his policy decisions on his deep religious piety, he was given charge of the Freedmen's Bureau in mid 1865, with the mission of integrating the freed slaves into Southern society and politics during the second phase of the Reconstruction Era. Howard took charge of labor policy, setting up a system that required free slaves to work on former plantation land under pay scales fixed by the Bureau, on terms negotiated by the Bureau with white land owners. Howard's Bureau was primarily responsible for the legal affairs of the Freedmen. He attempted to protect the negros from hostile conditions,

Howard School Site and Marker here on Laurel Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 21, 2011

2. Howard School Site and Marker here on Laurel Street

but lacked adequate power, and was repeatedly frustrated by President Andrew Johnson. Howard's allies, the Radical Republicans, won control of Congress in the 1866 elections and imposed Radical Reconstruction in, with the result that Freedmen were given the vote. With the help and advice of the Bureau, they joined Republican coalitions along with Carpetbaggers and Scalawags to take political control of most of the southern states. Howard was also a leader in promoting higher education for Freedmen, most notably in the founding of Howard University in Washington (D.C.) and serving as its president 1867–73.

Also see . . .
1. The Freedmen's Bureau, Wikipedia entry. The Bureau was part of the United States Department of War. Headed by Union Army General Oliver O. Howard, the Bureau was operational from 1865 to 1871. It was disbanded under President Ulysses S. Grant. (Submitted on August 21, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

2. Oliver Otis Howard. November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909 was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was a corps commander noted for suffering two humiliating defeats, at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, but he recovered from the setbacks while posted in the Western Theater, and served there successfully as a corps and army

Howard School Site Marker, looking eastward on Laurel Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 21, 2011

3. Howard School Site Marker, looking eastward on Laurel Street

commander. (Submitted on August 24, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

Howard School Site Marker, looking west image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 21, 2011

4. Howard School Site Marker, looking west

Gen. O.O.Howard , USA image. Click for full size.

M. Brady; Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Brady-Handy Collection

5. Gen. O.O.Howard , USA

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 21, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,148 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 23, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 5. submitted on August 24, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.