Faith Cabin Library at Anderson County Training School
National Register Listing
Street Address:
145 Town St., Pendleton, SC (Anderson County)
Alternate Name:
Catherine Degen Unit
NRHP Nomination
Multiple Property Documentation: Faith Cabin Libraries of South Carolina, 1932-1943
Record Number:
S10817704022
Description and Narrative:
The Faith Cabin Library at Anderson County Training School is significant for its role in African-American education and social history in South Carolina from ca. 1936, when it was built, to 1954, when Anderson County Training School closed with the construction of a new African-American “equalization school” nearby. It is also significant as one of only two remaining free-standing Faith Cabin Libraries extant of the thirty built in South Carolina between 1932 and 1943. The Faith Cabin Library at Anderson County Training School was a part of the larger Faith Cabin Library program created by Willie Lee Buffington, a white mill worker who later became a Methodist minister and college professor, that offered library services to rural African Americans in South Carolina. The segregation laws of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century barred African Americans from using other library facilities beyond what was offered in Columbia and Charleston. The black community of Pendleton and nearby rural communities of Anderson County were among the thirty communities fortunate to participate in the Faith Cabin Library program. Faith Cabin Libraries not only served the schools nearby but also served the larger African American communities in their area as well. By building free-standing libraries, the Faith Cabin Library movement provided access to library services for the community completely independent of school hours. During the transition of certain schools to community centers, these libraries remained open to provide access. The building is a one-room log cabin built with donated money and timber from the community. Listed in the National Register November 14, 2012.
Period of Significance:
circa 1936 – 1954
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Education;Ethnic Heritage: Black
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
November 14 2012
