Schofield Normal and Industrial School

Schofield Normal and Industrial School was a school for African Americans in Aiken, South Carolina.¹ It is now a public middle school. It is part of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network of Reconstruction Era history.² Alumni include Matilda Evans who became the first female African American doctor licensed in South Carolina. It became the public Martha Schofield High School before integration and later a middle school that remains open was also named for Martha Schofield.²³

The school was founded by the Freedmen's Bureau in 1866.⁴ Martha Schofield, a Quaker from Pennsylvania became its superintendent. It became a boarding school and taught trades and trained teachers. It was merged into the public school system in 1952.⁵ It was integrated in the 1960s and became a middle school.⁶

Isaac Fisher taught at the school.⁷ Nick Aaron Ford taught at the school.

Martha Schofield was also a political activist.⁸ She wrote to her sister on school stationery.⁹

Sanford P. Brady, an alumnus of the school, became its first African American superintendent. A belltower from the school that topped its Carter Hall is extant. A historical marker commemorates the school's history.⁴ Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College has a collection of papers from the school.⁵ The school is part of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network.¹⁰

Schofield Middle School is a public school in Aiken. It is on Sumter Street.¹¹ As of 2021, more than half the student body is African American.¹²