In an old church, then in an unfinished building, and finally in a small, two-story wooden building, Cookman Institute took on its more permanent growth.
Property adjoining the Methodist Episcopal Church was purchased by the Freedmen's Aid Society, and upon it began the long and laborious task of erecting buildings suitable for the work, and also the greater difficulty of raising the money to pay for them. The institution has buildings worth $25,000, accommodating one hundred boarders and 400 day pupils. These serve for the present size of the school. They are constructed of brick, and convey the idea of strength and durability.
Of far greater value than building has been the desire to see the intellectual work carried forward. This has been no easy task. To organize the various departments, get the classes well defined and students brought on to fill the several stations in the progress of the work, has taken years of patient toil and the expenditure of much money.
Those who have been with the school have won for themselves many golden opinions. The graduates honor themselves in their success in life, and show what education will do for the people when extended courses of study are pursued.
LAGRANGE ACADEMY.
This school is located at LaGrange, Ga. The faculty consists of Miss Carrie King, Principal; Carrie E. Campbell and Julia Gilmore, Tutors.
This school was organized in 1876, and is now under the auspices of the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society. Its design is to meet the great demand for a thorough and systematic course through the English, Normal and Academic studies. The Academy is an auxiliary to Clark University, and the text-books used are the same as at the University. The building is situated in the northwestern part of the town, three-fourths of a mile from the station.
RUST UNIVERSITY.
This Institution is located at Holly Springs, Miss., and was started in the early days of freedom by the Freedmen's Aid Society and represents one of the best schools in the South for the education of the colored youth. Being a Methodist School, it has a large number of families to draw its scholars from, for Mississippi is largely made up of Methodists and Baptists. I found a much better state of affairs in Mississippi from an educational standpoint among the colored Methodists than I expected, and I am sure the credit is largely due to the very excellent work done at Rust University. I found that, in addition to the Academic, Normal and Collegiate courses taught there, they give industrial training in printing, sewing, plumbing, rustic work, and domestic industry. They also have a splendid model home for girls. The president, William W. Foster, Jr., D. D., is a most excellent man. He comes to this institution from the East, where he has served some of the leading M. E. Churches as pastor. He is a graduate of Boston University, and comes well fitted to take charge of such a school as Rust. Mrs. Foster, who is as well known in the church as her husband, will be of great help and inspiration to him in this new field.