Sumter County · Marker 43-13
The Sumter Institute 1867-1901
Near the corner of Washington & Calhoun Sts., Sumter
Front inscription
A boarding school for girls located on the northeast corner of Washington and Calhoun Sts. Founded by Laura Fraser Browne and Eliza E. Cooper in 1867. Incorporated in 1888. H. Frank Wilson, president, 1892-96.
Reverse inscription
This school inspired Sumter's revival from war's desolation. Beginning as a one-room day school, it became a girls' boarding academy, ranking high among South Carolina educational institutions, a center of the social, spiritual, and cultural life of the community during Reconstruction days.