Berea College (replaces marker #773, For Mountain Youth)

Historical marker location:

Berea, Kentucky

( Berea College campus, Berea)

Abolitionist Rev. John Gregg Fee founded Berea College in 1855 as a school dedicated to the equal education of blacks, whites, men, and women. Pro-slavery forces closed the school during the Civil War. It reopened after the conflict and remained coeducational and integrated. In 1904, the Kentucky legislature enacted the Day Law, which segregated the school.

The Day Law prohibited racial coeducation in private schools. Although Berea appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the law remained in effect until amended in 1950. Berea College remains committed to its mission of equality and educational opportunity, emphasizing liberal arts, inclusive Christianity, service to Appalachia, & dignity and utility of all labor.

Berea College Civil Rights Civil War Schools