“B” is for Brainerd Institute. A historically Black primary, secondary, and normal school located in Chester, Brainerd Institute was one of the first educational institutions for newly freed African Americans. Sponsored by the Freedmen’s Bureau—the institute offered classes during the day, at night, and on Sunday for both former enslaved persons and poor Whites. In later years, it offered a liberal arts education rather than the industrial and agricultural arts stressed at most African American institutions. With the end of the Freedmen's Bureau, the school found a new sponsor in the board of missions of the New York Presbyterian Church. In 1888 the school moved to a ten acre site in Chester. Brainerd Junior College opened in 1934 to train teachers. The junior college and Brainerd Institute closed in 1939, citing increased public opportunities for Blacks and financial strains.
“B” is for Brainerd Institute
