The Island News shines the spotlight on Mather School

Beaufort’s Mather School is one of the first eight community sites to be included in the newly established Reconstruction Era National Historic Network, the National Park Service announced Monday, Nov. 23.

This national network, launched in March 2020, will connect sites across the country who provide education, interpretation and research for the period of Reconstruction. The Reconstruction Era (1861-1900) is one of the most fascinating and misunderstood periods in American History and includes stories of freedom, education and self-determination.

The Mather School, which was created shortly after the Civil War to provide education to the formerly enslaved, joins among the new community sites added to the network several Historic Black Colleges and Universities created during Reconstruction and a site managed by the South Carolina State Park system which interprets the stories of freedom and tenant farming.

In addition to the Mather School, the sites are Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Clinton College, Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site, South Carolina State University and Voorhees College.

“The Reconstruction story is a national story,” Superintendent Scott Teodorski said in a release. “It includes sites from all over the country. Some of the sites are managed by the National Park Service and many are not. The Reconstruction Era National Historic Network provides an opportunity to connect these sites and to connect visitors to their stories as part of the Reconstruction Era. We are very excited to welcome these new sites to the network and look forward to working with them.”

The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed into law on March 12, 2019, outlined the creation of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network. This network, managed by Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, includes sites and programs that are affiliated with the Reconstruction Era, but not necessarily managed by the National Park Service.

The National Park Service recently announced the first eight community sites, including Beaufort's Mather School, to be included in the newly established Reconstruction Era National Historic Network. The Technical College of the Lowcountry proudly shares its mission of education with The Mather School, which opened in 1868 to educate the daughters of freed slaves during Reconstruction. For 100 years, this extraordinary establishment educated and empowered countless individuals. In 1968, the property was given to the state of South Carolina and eventually became TCL, your community college.

The national network, launched in March 2020, will connect sites across the country that provide education, interpretation and research for the period of Reconstruction. The other seven sites, all in South Carolina, include Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Clinton College, Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site, South Carolina State University and Voorhees College.