Lincoln High School Collection

With its roots in the nineteenth century, Lincoln High School served generations of African American students in Sumter, South Carolina. In 1874, the Lincoln School became the first school for African Americans in Sumter, serving students of all ages. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the school was housed in a series of buildings, including one built with Rosenwald funds. 

 A new building was constructed in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration project and Lincoln High School was established. In 1952, African American families advocated for equalization funds – established by the state to update schools to maintain “separate but equal” facilities in South Carolina – to update and add space to the school. These additions included more classroom space, science laboratories, a cafeteria, and a library. 

 As one of the few available opportunities for high school education for African American students in Sumter, students from rural communities around Sumter would travel to Lincoln High to further their education. The school offered a wide range of classes and activities, preparing students for higher education and highly-skilled jobs. The school operated a shop and offered typing and home economics classes alongside academic subjects and the arts. The school was also an important center for the African American community in Sumter, hosting sporting events, weekly dances, and an annual homecoming celebration.  

 In 1969, the last class of students graduated from Lincoln High School. That fall Sumter schools desegregated and Lincoln was merged with a local white school to become Sumter High School. The Lincoln High School building remained a part of Sumter High until 1983. Today, the building and its history are being preserved by the alumni community. 

 The Lincoln High School Collection, which is maintained by the Lincoln High School Preservation Alumni Association, includes student yearbooks, newsletters, photographs, and newspaper clippings, among other materials that document the school’s history. The collection was digitized at the University of South Carolina Libraries’ Digital Collections, with generous funding from the Center for Civil Rights History and Research.