Mt. Zion Institute High School

United States historic place


Mt. Zion Institute High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


34°23′02″N 81°05′02″W / 34.38389°N 81.08389°W / 34.38389; -81.08389
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1777
NRHP reference No.	100004445^[1]
Added to NRHP	September 30, 2019

Mt. Zion Institute High School is a historic school complex (a collection of three buildings) located at Winnsboro, South Carolina.^[2]

History

The school was constructed on a land which was donated in 1777 to Mt. Zion Society for establishing Mt. Zion Institute. It was envisioned as a preparatory school in the Upstate for the sons of "wealthy planters" throughout South Carolina.^[3] Closed in 1780 by occupying British forces, it was reopened in 1784 under the leadership of Rev. Thomas McCaule, a Presbyterian minister trained at the College of New Jersey.^[4]

In 1878, the school converted from a private academy to a public school, becoming the Upstate's first public school and the second outside of Charleston.^[3]

The current structures, all constructed by 1936, include an elementary school, a high school, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, an auditorium, and a teacherage (seen below). The elementary school building, constructed in 1922, was destroyed by fire in 1981. The other buildings continued to serve Winnsboro's students until 1990.^[5] At the time of closure, it was the site of Mt. Zion Elementary school.^[3]

In 2018, the Fairfield County Council voted to renovate the building with the hope of utilizing it for administrative buildings for the county.^[5] Costs were estimated at approximately $8.9 million.^[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.^[6]

Notable alumni

James Henry Carlisle, former president of Wofford College
William Porcher DuBose, American priest
William McMillan, Delegate to the 6th United States Congress from the Northwest Territory
David R. Evans, U.S. House Representative from South Carolina (1813–1815)
John Taylor, 51st Governor of South Carolina (1826–1828)
John Hugh Means, 64th Governor of South Carolina (1850–1852)
David Wyatt Aiken, U.S. House Representative from South Carolina (1877–1887)
John Bratton, U.S. House Representative from South Carolina (1884–1885)
States Rights Gist, Confederate Army brigadier general during the American Civil War

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Mt. Zion Institute High School [S10817720045]". South Carolina Department of Archives & History. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Mt. Zion Institute". SC Picture Project. 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
^ "Mount Zion College". South Carolina Encyclopedia. University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cisneros, Jenna (22 October 2018). "Renovations to come for dilapidated Mt. Zion Institute in Winnsboro". WIS (TV). Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^ "National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions". Federal Register. September 13, 2019. ISSN 0097-6326. Retrieved April 15, 2022.