PENN SCHOOL PAPERS, #3615, 1861-1964
Administrative correspondence and records of Penn Normal Industrial and Agricultural
School, a school for black students established in 1862 on St.
Helena Island, South Carolina. The collection also contains material on Penn School's
successor, Penn Community Services, which commenced its activities in 1948. Materials include
approximately 3,000 photographs of students, teachers, school buildings, school events, and
island life and inhabitants (1860s-1962). Numerous volumes include trustee minutes; account
books and inventories; school and community club records; and guest books. The collection
also includes diaries and papers of Laura M. Towne, founder of the school, and of others
associated with the area in the 1860s. Microfilm
available.