On Saturday, a marker designated by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, will be unveiled in Dillon County denoting Leland Grove School as a state historic site. The marker will be erected on an easement given to the Dillon County Historical Society by the current owners of the land where the school still stands.
For many years, Leland Grove School educated Native American children in Dillon and Marlboro counties in South Carolina and some children from Robeson and Scotland Counties in North Carolina. The principal of the school for a long period was Dr. James Brayboy who would often get children out of the fields and take them to the school. During the fight for Civil Rights that led to the total integration of the races in our schools in the 1960s, Leland Grove with its Native American students was overlooked. Indeed, it was not until almost 1970 that the school was finally closed and Native Americans were permitted to attend schools where African Americans and whites were already enrolled. That year also saw Dr. Brayboy receive recognition as South Teacher of the Year and finish in the national competition as one of the top teachers nationwide.
The school and the amazing efforts of Dr. Brayboy have been the subject of several articles by Carley Wiggins in the Dillon Herald. Mr. Wiggins is scheduled to be there to mark this historic occasion.
Many of the former students of the school, state and county leaders, and family members of those that contributed to the work at the school as well as members of the family of Dr. Brayboy will be in attendance. The public is invited and there should be many people from the community to celebrate this historic day.
The marker will be unveiled at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, at the site. This will be the first state sanctioned historic marker regarding Native Americans in Dillon County and will truly be a significant event. A reception sponsored by the Historical Society and the Brayboy family will follow immediately after the ceremonies.
