St Mark's School

St Mark's School (originally St Mark's Industrial and Academic School for Colored Girls was a private school founded in 1892 by the Protestant Episcopal St Mark's Episcopal Church for the education of African American children in Birmingham. It was located at 18th Street and Avenue C on Southside. C. W. Brooks, rector of St Mark's, also served as the school's principal.

The school was initiated under the authority of Bishop L. H. Wilmer and originally only accepted female students, many of who boarded at the school's four-story brick building. The "industrial" department focused on teaching homemaking skills such as cooking and laundering, while the academic curriculum advanced to the high school level, including "the reading of two or more books of Caesar." The school also offered instrumental and vocal music programs with an opportunity to participate in a glee club.

The school was damaged by fire in 1905, but was rebuilt. It closed in 1940 following the establishment of Birmingham's public Industrial High School.

References

• Devigne, Sadie E. Beach (1907) "St. Mark's School, Birmingham, Alabama" The Colored American. Vol. 12-13
• Schnorrenberg, Barbara Brandon (December 2002) "The Best School for Blacks in the State" St. Mark's Academic and Industrial School Birmingham, Alabama 1892-1940" Anglican and Episcopal History Vol. 71, No. 4, pp. 519-549