Ellen Murray (1834-1908), with two young women from the Penn School. In 1862, Ellen Murray and Laura Towne (1825-1901), members of the Port Royal Experiment, established the first school for African-Americans on St. Helena Island. Towne was a native of Philadelphia; Murray was from Newport, Rhode Island. For four decades, the two women devoted their lives to educating the freedmen of the coastal area. In 1900, the school they founded was incorporated as the Penn Normal, Industrial, and Agricultural School (see Original Building Of The Penn School).
From the Penn School Collection. Permission granted by Penn Center, Inc., St. Helena Island, SC.
