Previous to 1867 the colored Methodist Church, New street; Lamar Hall, Liberty street; the lecture rooms of First and Bryan Baptist Churches; Sturtevant Hall, an old wooden structure on the site of present buildings at corner of Price and Harris streets, sheltered this A. M. A. work.
In 1867 commodious buildings were erected by the American Missionary Association, and dedicated as Beach Institute, in honor of Alfred E. Beach, Esq., editor of the _Scientific American_, who donated the funds to purchase the site.
There were 600 scholars, with ten teachers, at this time.
The teachers' home, 30 Harris street, was first occupied on Thanksgiving day, 1867.
The attendance and teaching force remained at about the same numbers until 1875, when the building was rented to the city for the use of the public school conducted by the Board of Education.
In 1879 the Association again assumed charge in order to secure a higher grade of instruction than the public school authorities thought it wise for them to furnish.
The Avery Institute at Charleston, S. C., is doing a splendid work for the educational and moral uplifting of the colored people of the State. I do not know of a single school in the State where so many children are in constant attendance. I have visited this school and I have always found every seat in the chapel occupied; in fact, the entire building is usually crowded.
The following is a complete list of all the normal and graded schools conducted by the American Missionary Association in the South:
Gregory Institute, Wilmington, N. C., Washburn Seminary, Beaufort, N. C., Lincoln Academy, All Healing, N. C., Skyland Institute, Blowing Rock, N. C., Saluda Seminary, Saluda, N. C., Brewer Normal School, Greenwood, S. C., Dorchester Academy, McIntosh, Ga., Storrs School, Atlanta, Ga., Ballard Normal Institute, Macon, Ga., Allen Normal and Industrial School, Thomasville, Ga., Knox Institute, Athens, Ga., Normal Institute, Albany, Ga., Normal School, Orange Park, Fla., Union School, Martin, Fla., Trinity School, Athens, Ala., Normal School, Marion, Ala., Emerson Institute, Mobile, Ala., Burrell School, Selma, Ala., Green Academy, Nat, Ala., Industrial Training School, Anniston, Ala., Carpenter High School, Florence, Ala., Le Moyne Institute, Memphis, Tenn., Warner Institute, Jonesboro', Tenn., Slater Training School, Knoxville, Tenn., Grand View Academy, Grand View, Tenn., Pleasant Hill, Tenn., Cumberland Gap, Tenn., Crossville, Tenn., Chandler Normal School, Lexington, Ky., Williamsburg, Ky., Meridian, Miss., Jackson, Miss., Almeda Gardner School, Moorehead, Miss., Helena Normal School, Helena, Ark.