Rev. Brackett's school With the end of the Civil War and the Passage of the
13th Amendment, there was a national effort to educate former enslaved persons. The federal government established the
Freedmen's Bureau, an agency dedicated to the assistance of integrating former slaves into society. Freedmen's Bureau activities included relocating, housing, feeding, and clothing the destitute and homeless. In addition, education became an essential element of the bureau's mission. The Lockwood House in Harpers Ferry was the first building to house the newly established
Storer School. Reverend
Nathan Cook Brackett a member of
New England's
Freewill Baptist Home Mission Society, established a primary school in the war-torn building. He taught basic fundamentals including reading, writing, and arithmetic to the children of former
slaves and their parents. Nathan C. Brackett, a Freewill Baptist minister from Philips Maine, was educated at the
Maine State Seminary (today
Bates College) and
Dartmouth College. The
American Missionary Association, a group working with the Freedmen's Bureau, assigned the
Shenandoah Valley to the Freewill Baptists. Nathan Brackett was familiar with the territory having served in the Shenandoah Valley, even headquartered in Harpers Ferry, in 1864 with the
U.S. Christian Commission:The agent upon whom the largest share of the work, in detail, was devolved, was Rev. N.C. Brackett, of Maine. Being a strong man, and possessed of tireless energy, it was impossible to give him too much to do. He was associated with me in all the operations in the Shenandoah Valley, and won for himself the kindest wishes of many hundreds of soldiers, as well as of officers and delegates.Upon arriving at Harpers Ferry, Brackett found a desperate and tumultuous situation. He later commented that, I found a colored population poor and helpless, surrounded by white people desperately hostile to their improvement. The task of securing school rooms and boarding places for the teachers was by no means a light one. The very few who would have been willing to furnish us were frequently prevented by the fear of their neighbors. Through the kindness of Capt. Young, we were allowed to occupy an old government house, which answered for school room and a place to live in, at Harper’s Ferry.Dedicated as they were, these few teachers could not begin to meet the educational needs of the
freedmen in the area. Across the South, education of freedmen was an urgent priority within their community. By 1867, some 16 teachers struggled to educate 2,500 students in the
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Reverend Brackett realized that he needed to train
African-American teachers. The Lockwood House would serve as the main building for Storer School until 1867, when the school came to the attention of
John Storer, a
philanthropist from
Maine. Storer offered a $10,000 grant to Reverend Brackett's school if several conditions could be met. First, the school must become a degree-granting college. Second, the school had to be open to all applicants, regardless of race or gender. And, finally, the
Freewill Baptists had to match his $10,000 donation within the year. After a year-long effort, the money was raised, and
Storer College opened its doors. By March 1868 it received its state charter. Through fundraisers and state funding, Storer College expanded its buildings but retained control of Lockwood House for the purpose of dormitories. == Historic preservation ==