31 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com Throughout the plantation era, literacy for most Blacks was illegal, and even when education was allowed during Reconstruction, there were no resources for teaching children of the emancipated. It wasn’t until 1904, nearly four decades after the Civil War ended, that the doors opened to Long Point Schoolhouse, the first school for Black students in the Snowden Community. Originally constructed as a house for a white family, the schoolhouse had two rooms, one for grades first-third and the other for fourth-sixth. Once located near what is now the Waffle House at the cross section of Long Point Road and I-526, the school was surrounded by woods rather than high-traffic interstates. According to Reverend Arthur Pinckney, who attended Long Point from first-third grade, he and his classmates learned from leftover textbooks discarded by white schools that were stamped “for coloreds only.” Segregation would remain the status quo until 1969 when schools in Charleston County were integrated. In 1954, the schoolhouse closed its doors and students transferred to Jennie Moore Elementary or Laing Middle. After decades of abandonment, the schoolhouse fell into a state of disrepair. To preserve the landmark, the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission, established in 2016 to address and find solutions to counter the demise of African American communities in the tri-county area, raised funds to relocate the schoolhouse to a new home in the Snowden Settlement in 2021. The nonprofit organization, according to Freddie Jenkins, president of the AASCHC, along with members of the community, former alumni and others, are now working to restore the building to its original state, while converting it into the Long Point Road Cultural Education Schoolhouse for public use. In desperate need of a new roof, as well as addressing many other structural issues, the project still has a long way to go. That’s why Connie Villacres, guide supervisor and history enthusiast at Boone Hall, hatched the idea of organizing the 1st Annual Long Point Schoolhouse 5k race on the plantation’s beautiful grounds. All proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to the school’s restoration. The race is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7 with an 8 a.m. start. Registration is open now through Sunday, Sept. 1. The fee is $25 for 12 and under and $35 for adults. Packet pickup is Friday, Sept. 6 from 2-5 p.m. or the morning of the event from 7-7:30 a.m. at Willie’s Roadside Market at Boone Hall Farms. Restrooms will be made available near the start/finish lines. The event will happen rain or shine. Make sure to stay for the after party that will include food trucks, music and other family-friendly activities. Parking for the race will be off of Highway 17 in the same parking area that is used for other Boone Hall events. Register at ultrasignup.com/ register.aspx?did=115901. Additionally, donations for preserving the schoolhouse are always welcome on the AASCHC Go Fund Me page, which can be found at gofundme.com/f/long-pointschoolhouse-final-phase-restoration. Path to Preservation Long Point Schoolhouse seeks funding BY SARAH ROSE our town Long Point Schoolhouse circa 1955. Long Point Schoolhouse 2024.
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