Mt Zion Institute - Tusitala Yearbook (Winnsboro, SC)

Page 10 text:

31jp ®isturi( of iliuutt Zion The Mount Zion Society was formed at Charlestown on January 29, 1777, and on Feb- ruary 13 following was incorporated for the purpose of founding, endowing and supporting a public school in the district of Camden,” Thus, Mount Zion Institute was conceived, and thus for the first time, perhaps, Low Country and Up Country in South Carolina engaged in a common scheme for the general welfare. This purpose of unity in the colony is nowhere expressly stated in the Articles of Incorporation, but it is strongly implied in the personnel of The Board of Directors of thirteen members: seven of these were from the up country, and six from the city of Charlestown. The first President of the Society was John Winn of Winnsboro, the wardens, General Strother and Captain Robert Ellison. The relation of education to religion appears by implication in the preamble to The Constitution: Arise! Shine! For thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified.” This identity of Christianity with education is shown, too, by the close relationship that existed between Mount Zion Society and Sion Presbyterian church in Winnsboro. Those early men of vision saw very clearly what many modern educators have forgotten —education without religion is vanity. Thus, in the very beginning they inculcated the spirit that has always animated Mount Zion throughout her long and honorable history. Before the Society built a school in Winnsboro, perhaps as early as 1767, a certain William Humphrey held classes in a small building located, probably, near where the post office now stands. It is likely, however, that Humphreys became the employee of the Society, At any rate, instruction went regularly on until the British army under Lord Cornwallis occupied Winnsboro in 1780. This event disrupted classes, but in 1783 the Society met, reorganized, and continued its work. In 1784 Rev. Thomas Harris McCants was placed in charge of the institution. He was an able man, and with the assistance of W. S. Yongne, W. M. Davy, and William Humphreys, he enlarged and improved the school. In 178 5 the General Assembly of South Carolina granted, on the same day, charters to three colleges, one of which was Mount Zion College at Winns- boro.” Mount Zion never, perhaps, functioned under this charter, but the people of Winnsboro still call Mount Zion The College.” From the re-opening of the school after the departure of Lord Cornwallis until 1834 nothing noteworthy happened. Able teachers during the period enlarged and improved the school, quietly and inconspicuously. Among them was a Mr. Fitz, a northern man, but a fine teacher and scholar,” Mr. Robert Munforce, and a Mr. Stafford of North Carolina. Among the trustees of this period were such familiar names as John McMaster, David Aiken, John Buchanan, P. E. Pearson, Caleb Clark, and William Moose. It was

Page 9 text:

®o 01u Spirit of Mount 2 urn So shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for Mount Zion, and for the hill thereof Isaiah 31:4. To those men of the distant past in Charleston and Winnsboro, who, seeing the need of unity and education in His Majesty's colony of South Carolina, formed the Mount Zion Society and founded Mount Zion Institute; to their sue cessor s, who, in prosperity and in adversity, in war and in peace, in the bright sunshine of glorious victory and in the dark shadow of utter defeat, have kept the light on the hill” aflame for these one hundred and sixty-eight years; and to the radiant spirit that inspired and guided them, and in the fullness of time, has made Mount Zion stately and beautiful; we, with abiding gratitude and admiration, dedi- cate this volume.

Page 11 text:

during this period, too, in 1824, that the Society began to hold its meetings in Winns- boro. Until this year it had met in Charleston. James W. Hudson came to Mount Zion in 1834. He was a dominant character and a great teacher. Students came to Mount Zion from all over the Southern States. Hudson made Mount Zion famous. It became the ambition of favored young men to avail themselves of the Superior Advantage of Mount Zion.” Among Hudson’s assistants were William Bratton, Thomas McCants, D. Wyatt Aiken, George H. McMaster, James H. Rion, and Wood Davidson. Hudson is buried under a monument erected to his memory just in front of the present graded school building. During the period of the war between the states Mount Zion never closed its doors. In the latter part of the war the buildings were used as a military hospital, and at the last were occupied by Federal troops. Meeting disaster with unfaltering courage, the trustees continued the school, the classes meeting in the Baptist Church, Thespian Hall, anywhere where a roof to cover the pupils could be found. In 1867 there came the crowning blow. Fire destroyed the building completely. The Society, still reeling from the shock of war and in the midst of the terrible reconstruc- tion era, suffered a loss of thirty thousand dollars. But the spirit instilled by the founders was indomitable. In 1873 a smaller building was erected and the school continued. In 1878 Mount Zion was changed from an academy to a public graded school, still con- nected, however, with Mount Zion Society. This was undoubtedly the first public school in the state outside of Charleston. Professor R. Means Davis, great gentleman and be- loved teacher, was the guiding spirit in this innovation. About 1880, an attempt was made to revive the collegiate features of the school. A joint meeting of the Society and the citizens was held. The town issued its bonds for some seven thousand dollars, giving the proceeds to Mount Zion. Funds were raised in other ways and the session of 1881 was opened in a large and well arranged brick building, furnished with improved seats, chemical laboratory, etc.” W. H. Witherow became Superintendent, and for sixteen years under bis leadership the school grew in usefulness. From Witherow’s time until the present, the school has been a public graded and high school under the laws of the State of South Carolina. In 1922, the building, which was so large and well arranged” in 1881, was torn away and the present grammar school building was erected. This structure was used by both graded and high schools until 1936, when a new high school building was erected. The light on the hill,” as Dr. Jas. H. Carlisle called Mount Zion, still shines. We hope that the spirit of the founders still animates us, who use the tools they forged. Honor, reverence, courage, loyalty, sound learning, courtesy, and consideration for others—these are the things Mount Zion has stood for. The fads and frills and foolish fancies of education of these latter days are not a part of her spirit and her tradition. Let us hope that she will hold fast to her ideals: changing her methods, but not her 'purposes, slowly and sanely as the years go by.