King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation

The King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation is a foundation in Savannah, Georgia, USA. Its official website presents the Beach Institute, established in 1867 as the first school built specifically for newly emancipated African Americans in Savannah following the Civil War, and describes the site as preserving Savannah's African-American history.

The King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation is a foundation in Savannah, Georgia, USA. Its official website presents the Beach Institute, which was established in 1867 as the first school built specifically for newly emancipated African Americans in Savannah following the Civil War. The site describes the effort as born of the Reconstruction Era effort to provide education for formerly enslaved people, and states that in 1865 a meeting at the First African Baptist Church in Savannah brought community leaders together to consider how freed people should educate their children, resulting in the formation of the Savannah Education System (SEA), with support from the American Missionary Association (AMA) and the Freedman's Bureau. The new school was largely funded by Scientific American magazine founder Alfred Ely Beach. The land was cleared and the structure was built by free and formerly enslaved African Americans, and the original building design featured eight classrooms. Soon after the Institute opened, it enrolled around 600 students in the early years, initially operating as a tuition-based school with fees of $1 per month. In 1875, the Beach Institute was turned over to the Chatham County Board of Education, and the building functioned as a school for nearly 50 years.

Preserving Savannah's African-American history

1. 1About - King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation | The Beach Institute & King-Tisdell Cottage – Savannah, GA Museumsbeachinstitute.org
2. 2King-Tisdell Cottage Foundationwikidata.org