Richland County · Marker 40-00
Fort Jackson Elementary School
in front of the Hood Street Elementary School, Hood St., Fort Jackson, Columbia
Front inscription
Fort Jackson Elementary School was one of the first public schools in S.C. to desegregate when classes began on September 3, 1963. The first school on post and one of the first permanent buildings at Fort Jackson, it was built in only three months. A new federal policy required all schools on military bases to admit African-American students instead of sending them to separate schools off-base.
Hood Street Elementary School
This school opened under Principal Thomas Silvester with nine civilian teachers and 245 students in Grades 1-6. A newspaper article described it as “operated without regard to race, creed or color.” Fort Jackson Elementary School, later renamed Hood Street Elementary School after additional schools opened on post, has served the families of Fort Jackson servicemen and servicewomen for more than 45 years.