Southern Christian Institute
N 32° 20.120 W 090° 38.073
15S E 722639 N 3580064
This is one of the 2013 top ten most endangered places in Mississippi. We hope you will enjoy visiting these forgotten places and, in doing so, bring a little life and memory back into each one.
Waymark Code: WMJFNB
Location: Mississippi, United States
Date Posted: 11/12/2013
Views: 7
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Significance:
Located on a rural stretch of Highway 80 outside of Edwards, the Southern Christian Institute was established in 1882 by the Home Missionary Society of the Disciples of Christ to offer religious education to African-Americans. From its modest beginnings in the former plantation home of Colonel McKinney L. Cook, the school grew in the period from 1900 to 1930, with several new buildings being constructed from lumber milled on site by students. Over the years, the educational mission was expanded, educating many future teachers. In 1953, the school merged with Tougaloo College and was later closed. In 1962, the campus was reopened as the site of statewide training for civil rights workers under the direction of SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) activists Bob Moses and Bernice Robinson. The college once again saw new life in the 1970s as Bonner Campbell School of Religion, which used the campus for religious retreats and a Head Start center.
Today, the campus consists of four historic buildings, Smith Hall Girl’s Dormitory (1915), Allison Hall Cafeteria (1909), Administration and Classroom Building (1926) and Belding Hall Boy’s Dormitory (1935), as well as a bell tower (1926) and a water tower, all vacant and in poor condition.
Threat:
The owner of the property, the 8th District Episcopal A.M.E. Church, has stated that it plans to demolish the structures and redevelop the property.
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Visit the other Waymarks in this series:
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Mendenhall High School Auditorium – WMJFNX
West Pascagoula Colored School – WMJFNZ
Webster County Courthouse – WMJFP2
Isaiah T. Montgomery House – WMJFX1
Moss Point Water Works – WMJFN5
Merrill Maley House – WMJFN7
Millsaps Hotel – WMJFM4
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