Schofield History

Martha Schofield

At the end of the Civil War, a young Quaker woman from Buck's County, Pennsylvania, moved to the coast of South Carolina as a representative of the Freedman's Bureau. She became deeply interested in the Negro population and the multitude of problems they faced incident to emancipation. In 1868, because of health problems, she moved to Aiken with the firm determination of founding a school for the benefit of colored youth. In Aiken, Martha gathered little groups of children where and whenever she could collect them. She began to teach without equipment or financial aid but with a love and altruism which, combined with sterling common sense and purpose, insured the success of her enterprise. With support from the Society of Friends and people throughout the country, Miss Schofield was able to acquire the property bounded by Kershaw, Sumter, Barnwell, and Abbeville Streets. The original building was completed about 1870. There were sixty-eight students and a total of three staff members. From one woman's vision grew one of the most important schools for Negroes in the state.
Schofield Normal and Industrial School was founded through the efforts of a dauntless woman, Martha Schofield, whose predecessor was "forcibly driven from the town" by those against the education of the Negro after the War. A Board of Trustees had been appointed for the school by 1882. By 1886 the school was incorporated under the laws of South Carolina. In 1939, the Friends Society "adopted" part of the school and provided lights, better blackboards, painted walls, and pencil sharpeners. The year 1951 brought the purchase of the school and lands by Aiken County for the sum of $5.00. The County agreed to run the school and name it Martha Schofield High School. It remained a high school until the early 1980's when it became what is now known as Schofield Middle School.
Schofield has evolved into a campus consisting of three classroom buildings and a gymnasium. A dedicated faculty and staff of close to one hundred work together meeting the needs of almost a thousand students a year. Martha Schofield surely must be smiling. Schofield Middle School will continue to educate the students of Aiken County into the twenty-first century. In the late spring of 2001, construction began on a new wing. Construction and renovations have been completed in the summer of 2003. We invite all who have attended Schofield to come by and tour the new facilities.