ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – Family members and friends gathering on this Tuesday.
They are honoring a Rock Hill man who worked his entire life to bring high quality education to African Americans during segregation.
The life and legacy of William Mason Chisholm will now live on through a permanent historical marker, unveiled today.
What is now woods, off Saluda Road in Rock Hill, was once home to the Durkee/Chisholm Training Institute.
Founded by the late William Mason Chisholm in the 1930’s. Chisholm was a poet and advocate for education brought the vocational school. I offered free tuition and served African Americans in the Rock Hill community and rural areas.
Officials say at its height, 400 students of all ages were enrolled.
“When it was established and people were going to school here, it was the middle of Jim Crow segregation here in the South. African American people and white people were segregated in nearly every aspect of their live, and that included education”, says Zach Lemhouse, Historian with the Culture and Heritage Museums in York County.
Records reveal the school closed after Chisholm was murdered in 1962 at a store he operated in Rock Hill. The murderer confessed to police but gave no motive. Chisholm’s remains are buried on the former site of the school.
Decades later, Chisholm’s family was trying to find his grave. They say a realtor discovered Chisholm’s grave while looking at the property.
William’s 2nd cousin Pam Chisholm teamed up with York county Council man, Bump Roddey and the Culture and Heritage Museums in York County to find a way to honor his dedication to African Americans.
After nearly three years in the making, a South Carolina historical marker stands to honor Chisholm’s legacy in the city and beyond.
“To hear that he started a school, he drove buses, laid water lines, paid for weddings, traveled the country, traveled the world, attended multiple colleges throughout the United States, that’s significant not just to Rock Hill, not just to South Carolina, but across the country”, says William Bump Roddey.
“He wanted to help people, he wanted to see a better life for people of color, people who looked liked him. We are living his dream because his name is on that marker”, says Pam Chisholm.
York County councilman Bump Roddey says he is working with the Rock Hill School District to have a booklet on Chisholm’s story available to students.
Chisholm will also be honored during this year’s Freedom Walkway Local Heroes event in Rock Hill later this week. This historical marker is the 79th State marker in York County.
The South Carolina Historical Marker is sponsored by Culture & Heritage Museums and funded by York County through the advocacy of council member Bump Roddey.
