Last updated: November 4, 2024
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Piney Woods Country Life School Historic District (Rankin County, Mississippi)
African American Civil Rights Network
Piney Woods Country Life School Historic District comprises the campus of Piney Woods Country Life School, a private, historically Black coeducational boarding school in unincorporated Rankin County, Mississippi. The oldest of four of historically Black boarding schools still in operation in the United States, it serves students in grades 9 through 12. Piney Woods’ sprawling campus is nestled within nearly 800 acres of piney hills approximately 20 miles south of Jackson.
Laurence C. Jones was an educator from Missouri. Between 1907 and 1909 he taught at Utica Normal and Industrial Institute, a vocational school and teachers’ college for African Americans in Utica, Mississippi. In 1908, Jones traveled to Braxton, Mississippi, about 45 minutes east of Utica, where he visited a student. He was struck by the dire need for educational opportunities for African Americans in the area and decided to develop a school.
In 1909, a formerly enslaved man gave Jones 40 acres of land a few miles outside of Braxton to house Piney Woods School. Jones emphasized academic preparedness, spirituality, and vocational skills, combining educational philosophies championed by leading African American intellectuals of the time. Piney Woods offered a safe learning space for African American students during a period when educational opportunities were limited by racial inequality.
Piney Woods Country Life School Historic District became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.
Piney Woods Country Life School Historic District comprises the campus of Piney Woods Country Life School, a private, historically Black coeducational boarding school in unincorporated Rankin County, Mississippi. The oldest of four of historically Black boarding schools still in operation in the United States, it serves students in grades 9 through 12. Piney Woods’ sprawling campus is nestled within nearly 800 acres of piney hills approximately 20 miles south of Jackson.
Laurence C. Jones was an educator from Missouri. Between 1907 and 1909 he taught at Utica Normal and Industrial Institute, a vocational school and teachers’ college for African Americans in Utica, Mississippi. In 1908, Jones traveled to Braxton, Mississippi, about 45 minutes east of Utica, where he visited a student. He was struck by the dire need for educational opportunities for African Americans in the area and decided to develop a school.
In 1909, a formerly enslaved man gave Jones 40 acres of land a few miles outside of Braxton to house Piney Woods School. Jones emphasized academic preparedness, spirituality, and vocational skills, combining educational philosophies championed by leading African American intellectuals of the time. Piney Woods offered a safe learning space for African American students during a period when educational opportunities were limited by racial inequality.
Piney Woods Country Life School Historic District became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.