Huspah Baptist Church and School

Front inscription

Huspah Baptist Church was organized c. 1873. The congregation first met in the homes of church members before erecting a permanent sanctuary. A two-room school was added to the property c. 1890 and was operated as a school for African American students. In 1898 the congregation purchased the “Old Baptist Church” lot, a one-acre plot of land that included the former church building of a white congregation.

Reverse inscription

The first school was burned in 1895, a victim of suspected arson. It re-opened the following year in a new building. Elizabeth Evelyn Wright and Jessie Dorsey were the first teachers at the new school. Wright would go on to found Voorhees College in 1897. The school at Huspah remained in service until the county built a new school for African American students on Holly St. in 1927.