National Historic Landmark · school · Midway, Georgia

Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory

Historic school in the United States in Midway, Georgia. Built 1935 by George Awsumb. Added to the National Register in 1986, and a National Historic Landmark.

Dorchester Academy 1874Dorchester Academy archDorchester Academy front entranceDorchester Academy side entrance
Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

Wikipedia · Dorchester Academy

Dorchester Academy was a school for African-Americans located just outside Midway, Georgia. Operating from 1869 to 1940, its campus, of which only the 1935 Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory survives, was the primary site of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Citizen Education Program. This program, ran here from 1961 to 1970, worked toward attaining equality for blacks in the American South by teaching them their rights and helping them acquire the knowledge necessary to become registered voters by passing the required test. The dormitory building was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2006 for its later role in the American civil rights movement, and for its association with activist Septima Poinsette Clark, who oversaw the education program. The campus, which includes several later buildings, is now a museum and research center.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

National Register of Historic Places
Property typeBuilding
Address8787 East Oglethorpe Highway (US 84), Midway vicinity, GA
CountyLiberty County
ListedJun 23, 1986
Reference number86001371
Built1935
ArchitectGeorge Awsumb
Type of placeschool, museum, African-American museum
DesignationsNational Historic Landmark, America's Most Endangered Historic Places
Contributing resources1 buildings

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Open to the public
Address8787 East Oglethorpe Highway (US 84), Midway, GA
Websitedorchesteracademyia.org
Coordinates31.80080, -81.46528 · Directions ↗
Nearest national park unitFort Pulaski National Monument · 35 mi · on Park Atlas
This one you can go inside. Hours and admission change with the season; the website above has the current schedule.

Explore

Why you would stay

Reference

Exists because it is true

Sources

Location, dates, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 86001371. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.