Schools -- Freedman's School

D. J. Ryan, photographer, corner of Congress and Whitaker Sts, Savannah

1870

Savannah (Ga.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.

Historic buildings -- Georgia -- Savannah -- Pictorial works.

Public schools -- Georgia -- Savannah -- History -- Pictorial works.

Black and white stereograph of the Freedman's School, with double image affixed to yellow paper backing. Title is handwritten in ink on the back of card. Publisher information is printed on a label pasted to the back of the card. Located at 502 East Harris Street' the Freedmen's School was built in 1867 by the Freedmen’s Bureau. The school was established by the American Missionary Association to educate newly freed slaves. New Yorker Alfred S. Beach, editor of the Scientific American, donated funds to purchase the site, and the school was named the Beach Institute. When it opened, the teaching staff were primarily white female teachers from the north. Initially, 600 students enrolled the school. There was a small fee for tuition. In 1875, the Savannah Board of Education took over the operation of the school and it became a free public school for black children. After a fire in 1878, operation of the school was returned to the American Missionary Association. Other schools opened, including a public black high school, and the Beach Institute closed in 1919 due to declining enrollment. Now the building serves as an African-American Cultural Center and offers programs and exhibits featuring arts and crafts with a African-American influence.

D. J. Ryan (Daniel) not only was a photographer, but a dealer in photographic equipment and chemicals. He arrived in Savannah in 1867. He advertised in the 1868 Historical Record of the City of Savannah by F. D. Lee and J. L. Agnew, published in Savannah, Georgia. It is known that his studio was at the corner of Whitaker and Congress Streets, probably on the site of Paula Deen’s restaurant, from the information on the backs of his stereoviews. He was the photographer who took the images of General Lee in Savannah on his farewell tour. Lee posed with his old comrade-in-arms, Joseph Johnston, for a series of photographs sold to aid the Ladies Memorial Association of Savannah. Ryan left Savannah in 1886 for Illinois. In 1893, he moved to Denver, Colorado, where he died in 1908.

No identification number or mark found.

Scholars wishing to cite this item should include item title, Savannah Stereoview Collection, MS 018, Jen Library Archives and Special Collections, the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the item's url.

Image

Stereograph

3 1/4 x 6 3/4 inches

Albumin print

MS 018 Savannah Stereoview Collection, Jen Library Archives and Special Collections, the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Though this item is believed to be in the Public Domain, copyright may have been retained by the authors or creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.