Bettis Academy and Junior College in Trenton, South Carolina

Bettis Academy and Junior College in Trenton, South Carolina - Bettis Academy and Junior College was founded in 1881 by the Reverend Alexander Bettis (1836-1895), a former slave who was taught to read by his slave mistress, Widow Jones. He never learned to write. He was the son of a pure blooded African father and a Mulatto mother. Alex's mother was a cook in the big house so he had the opportunity to make frequent trips there from the slave quarters. Alex embodied the characteristics which slave masters cherished. He was loyal and honest. His mistress nicknamed him "Honest Aleck" because he was often sent on errands to town to purchase or sell goods and he was always truthful and honest. He proved himself to be very trustworthy. The whites grew to trust and respect him.

He supported their patriarchal views of slavery: the white man as the caretaker of the Negro. Widow Jones educated him and placed her saw mills and plantation under his supervision. Because the whites trusted "Honest Aleck", they encouraged him to pursue the ministry. He became a Baptist preacher, however even though some white residents attended his services, the local Baptist association refused to ordain him because of his color.

In 1868, Bettis founded the Mt. Canaan Educational Association and the academy was an outgrowth from that institution. Bettis eventually founded as many as forty Baptist Churches in the South.

At that time, in the post slavery south, white society overlooked and neglected the education of blacks. After the slaves were freed, very few were literate and the whites did not encourage literacy. They were still trying to define their relationship to the newly freed slaves.

Bettis Academy was once considered the leading institution of African American learning in the country, indeed it was one of the very first. The school began as a single room structure with one teacher and a handful of students. Eventually, the campus grew to a collection of fourteen classrooms, a dormitory, and associated buildings on 350 acres of land.

It currently consists of three historic buildings and one triangular historic landscape. The library construction was completed in 1939. Bettis Academy students made the bricks for the library with their own hands. The library was considered the essemce and soul of the campus as the repository of knowledge. It once owned a collection of more than 4000 books. The library currently houses collections which memorialize the story of the Academy and Junior College.

The principle focus of the institution was the religious and practical training of Negro youth with emphasis on teacher education. Education included practical skill such as home economics as well. Bettis Academy provided both day and boarding arrangements for classes. The academy closed in 1952.

Imagine the impact this institution had on post-slavery black society in the south. So many young blacks attended school there, including my own mother, my aunt and an uncle, who went on to become educators.

Bettis academy represented a beacon of light for these young, bright students, a possibility of escape from the poverty and lack of opportunity of the agrarian south. My mother attended from 1937-1942. She told me the students often brought items from their farm, like crops, meat or eggs to pay tuition. The school provided as best they could to nourish the body and soul of the students on very limited resources. Mom remembers her time at Bettis as an important period of spiritual, educational and emotional growth.

Monuments to each of Bettis Academy's three presidents remain on the campus. Visitors can tour the nearby springs which supplied the water for the campus. A park remains called Bettis Park which is a scenic walking track with sports facilities. There is a preservation society for the Academy. Annual Earth days are held there centered on the restoration and maintenance of Biddle Hall which is the school museum. They also celebrate around July 4^th, the first meeting Reverend Bettis held to clear ground for the school.

Bettis Academy can be contacted at: The Bettis Academy Heritage Corridor Team, Trenton S.C.

803 649-7709 or 803 663-6681

[1] A Brief Sketch of the Life and Labors of Alexander Bettis

[1www.discoversouthcarolina.com]