School Annuals in the Research Room

Last updated: 20 September 2022 - gmc

Even in this year of unusual circumstances, if you're like me the words "September" and "school" just seem to go together. Last week we got an e-mail inquiry about school annuals. In fact, questions about local school yearbooks come up on a very regular basis in the Research Room. Composing an answer for our off-site customer led me to write today's post. 

Our collection of school yearbooks in the Beaufort District Collection comes from donations through time. That means that our coverage of schools is completely dependent on donations. I rejoice when someone calls to offer us school annuals (or Marine Platoon books) found while clearing out a property. As I often say and occasionally write, getting the opportunity of first refusal is the best gift of all.

Most of the school yearbooks we have here in the BDC were once owned by former teachers in the white schools. The full list by school in alphabetical order with the annual year is: 

Battery Creek High School: 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002

Beaufort Academy: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998

Beaufort High School: 1921, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1990, 2005, 2007

Beaufort Junior High School: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

H.E. McCracken High School: 1973, 1975

H.E. McCracken Middle School: 2007

Hilton Head Island Middle School:  2004

Lady's Island Elementary School: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

Lady's Island Junior High School: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992

Mather School: 1954, 1956, 1957

Robert Smalls High School: 1964

St. Helena High School: 1956

As you can see, coverage is hit or miss. 

The Mather School, Robert Smalls High School and St. Helena High School were predominantly black schools.  

• Mather School was a private boarding school founded to educate African-American girls in the late 1860s by Rachel Mather. It began to admit males to its religious training classes in the mid-20^th century. The Technical College of the Lowcountry campus on Ribaut Road in Beaufort occupies the former Mather School property.
• Robert Smalls High School used to sit on the County administration building property at the corner of Ribaut and Boundary Streets, 1924 -1970 for the High School. The Robert Smalls Junior High School adjacent to the RSHS continued to operate at the site until 1984 when the new Robert Smalls School was opened on what is now 43 W K Alston Dr, Beaufort, SC 29906; and
• St. Helena High School, open from 1954 to 1971, was on the site of the present St. Helena Elementary School.
  

In response to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, three Black students petitioned School District 1 Board of Trustees to transfer into white schools in July 1964. The first Black students to integrate the white schools in Beaufort County were Rowland Washington who attended Beaufort High; Craig Washington who transferred into Beaufort Elementary; and Janelle Drake who went to Mossy Oaks Elementary. When the schools opened in late August that year, nine Black students entered classrooms at formerly all white schools. The Beaufort Gazette named the nine students as Ronald Washington [Rowland Washington], Reginald Butler Jr., Paula Butler, Craig Washington, Mae Cathlie, Banessa Newsome, Dwight Smith, Lucy Smith, and Jeannelle Drake. Five of the nine students were military dependents. At the time the article was written another ten Black students were awaiting finalization of their petitions for transfer into white schools. [Source: "Nine Negro Students Enter Four County White Schools," Beaufort Gazette, 3 September 1964, pp. A-1, A-3.] 

Gradually the integration process unfolded so that by the 1970-1971 school year, Robert Smalls High School, St. Helena High School and Beaufort High School merged into one high school for all north of the Broad high school students. Each school contributed some tradition to the new integrated high school entity: The school's name became Beaufort High School; the school colors became green and white (green from the green/gold of Robert Smalls, green/white of Beaufort High and red/white of St. Helena High), the athletic teams became Eagles (from St. Helena High).  [Source: Look Back 1965-1972: Civil Triumph: The Integration of Beaufort High School ... by Beaufort Middle School (2002), p. 23].

We have BDC vertical files on each of these schools and one on "Schools - Integration" more in the Research Room. You can borrow a copy of Look Back through the Library's curbside service.

You can see some school related postcards in the Russell J. Arnsberger Collection and some school related photographs in the Lucille Hasell Culp Collection through our partnership with the Lowcountry Digital Library.

A request: If you happen to have a yearbook from schools within Beaufort, Jasper or Hampton counties, South Carolina, I'd love to have the right of first refusal for the BDC.