The Freedmen's Public School of Florence, 1866-1869

Description

A series of documents and newspaper articles pertaining to the Freedmen's Public School, which was founded in October of 1866 by the Pittsburgh Freedmen's Aid Commision. The Freedmen’s Public School, succeeded an earlier school taught in 1865 by native black and former Wesleyan College bootblack "Prof." George Poole (1830-aft. 1900), and opened on October 29, 1866 on South Court Street at Church Springs Methodist Episcopal (ME) Church (now Greater St. Paul AME Church). The principal was noted black educator Oscar M. Waring (1837-1911). Besides its regular curriculum the school was also a normal school in which competent students were trained to be teachers. (By May of 1866 Prof. EM Mears and his wife had opened a private academy for freedmen and a couple of freedmen with very little training were said to be teaching their own schools somewhere in Lauderdale County.)

Overall oversight of the school was in the hands of Florence-Lauderdale's Freedmen's Bureau agent, German Capt. Charles A. Tenge (1809-1869) who himself made routine reports to his superior, Union Brevet-Col. John B. Callis.

It looks as if the Freedmen's Public School, founded to educate the children of Florence’s freed slaves, eventually morphed into the Florence District School for Negroes which was attended by a young WC Handy (1873-1958) and his brother in the 1880s.

The photo is of members of the Sumner High School in St. Louis, MO in 1900. Prof. Waring is standing in the top left of the photo.

Source

1-2. Freedmen's Bureau, Huntsville, Ala.
3.-4. Florence Journal
5-7. Pittsburgh (PA) Daily Commerce
8. Memphis (TN) Daily Post
9. Clearfield, PA Raftsman's Journal
10-11. Florence Journal
12. University of Missouri-St. Louis

Publisher

5-9. Newspapers.com

Contributor

Lee Freeman

Rights

Images are available for educational and research purposes. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the interested party to identify the copyright holder and receive permission.

Format

Jpeg

Language

English

Type

Still Images

Files

Collection

School

Citation

“The Freedmen's Public School of Florence, 1866-1869,” Shoals Black History, accessed May 13, 2026, https://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/1121.