Aiken County · Marker 02-82
Sardis Elementary School
268 Poplar St. SE, Salley
Front inscription
Sardis Elementary School opened at this site in 1954. The school served African American residents of Salley and surrounding areas and was built through the S.C. equalization program, a state effort to preserve segregation by upgrading Black schools. It replaced the nearby Sardis or Salley Colored School as well as Union Academy, which stood several miles outside of Salley. Both were originally Rosenwald schools.
Reverse inscription
Sardis Elementary School’s first principal at this site was Clyde Blassingale, a local teacher and farmer. The campus included three buildings and was designed by prominent Columbia architects Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle & Wolff. Sardis remained an all-Black elementary school until 1970, when it became the integrated Sardis Multi-Media School. The campus later housed a Headstart program. It still stands.