The remnants of the original Keith School stand in front of the Keith School Museu, which is located next to Nelliefield Plantation on Clements Ferry Road.

Weathered bricks and foundation fragments are all that remains of the original Keith School.

The Clements Ferry Road schoolhouse served African American students during South Carolina’s Jim Crow era. Built solely by community volunteers, the school operated from 1926 to 1956 when students transferred to the brand-new Cainhoy school. The building was then used as a community center until it was destroyed during Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

The surviving bricks and mortar – enclosed by a fence like a memorial garden – are important relics of life in Wando and Huger rural communities.

But the spirit of Keith School is alive mere yards from the rubble in the new Keith School Museum, which is located next to the entrance of Nelliefield Plantation. Unlike the original structure, which was erected amid a climate of segregation, the museum is a collaborative effort of community members and the city of Charleston.

Community leader Fred Lincoln alluded to this collective spirit during remarks last week to accept museum donations from local authors Mike and Michael Dahlman, the Daniel Island Community Fund and East Cooper Community Outreach.

TOM RATZLOFF Michael Dahlman, who co-authored “The History of Daniel Island” with his father Mike, talked about his experiences researching the book. The Dahlmans have donated 20 percent of the sales proceeds of their book to the Keith School Museum project. Michael is a senior at Bishop England High School and will attend The Citadel as a history major next year.

"The original building was built by the community," Lincoln said. "The land was donated by the Logan family and people built it after work and on weekends so their kids would have an opportunity to learn. It’s amazing when you think of it. All they had was manual labor but somehow they had the vision that education was important and the community had to do it on its own. For this building, people from all cultures are doing something together so you can see the progress that has been made."

The Dahlmans, a father-and-son writing team, wrote "The History of Daniel Island," a pictorial history that was published last year by Arcadia Publishing. They designated that 20 percent of the book’s profits go to ECCO to benefit the Cainhoy community. The local community fund matched the total to raise the contribution to $1,400. The money will be used to erect a sign in front of Keith School Museum.

Mike Dahlman said that he and his son wanted to give back to the community that came before them and to help keep the past alive.

Speaking for the Daniel Island Community Fund, board member Bob Graham said, "Our community is not simply Daniel Island. The community fund embraces the Cainhoy community, too, and when we learned of this project, we were moved by it and agreed to make a matching contribution. Yes, the Keith School is historical but it is also contemporary. Good things will be done for the community inside this building."

Lincoln and ECCO CEO Jack Little said that the museum will also be a community center where people can come to learn of their heritage and take education classes. This was welcome news to Dr. Victor Del Bene, who is president of ECCO’s board of directors.

"I loved hearing the word ‘education,’" said Del Bene, who recently retired as dean of students and education at MUSC’s College of Medicine. "I hold education very dear and I also like to see communities look ahead and back."

While displaying a facsimile of the museum sign, Del Bene said, "One thing I learned today is that no matter how good directions are to a place, I missed it. So it’s appropriate that we are donating this sign to Keith School Museum and I really know that this is an important sign."

Lincoln noted that more money will be needed to operate the museum. Insurance alone is $7,000 annually. He said there are a lot of artifacts from the school’s heyday that will be displayed once proper cabinets and building security are established. Hours of operation will be determined in the future.