Asbury Manual Labor School was an American Indian boarding school near

Fort Mitchell, Alabama Fort Mitchell is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Russell County, Alabama, Russell County, Alabama, United States. The settlement developed around a garrisoned fort intended to provide defense for the area during the Creek War ...

. Founded by the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

, and named for

Francis Asbury Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was a British-American Methodist minister who became one of the first two bishop (Methodist), bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the col ...

, it opened in 1822 and closed in 1830, when the Creek were forcibly removed to Oklahoma.

History

Fort Mitchell was a military fort and then a trading post, built in 1813, while the

Creek War The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...

was going on. The reverend William Capers was sent there by the United Methodist Church to missionize among the Creek. Negotiations with the local chiefs led to his opening the Asbury Manual Labor School and Mission in 1822, one mile north of Fort Mitchell near Coweta, an Indian village; Creek children were to learn how to read and write and acquire other skills. The reverend Isaac Smith was the first teacher, and worked there until he retired in 1829; when the school opened it had a dozen students, and would average between 35 and 50 students. It quickly got three teachers and a 25-acre farm. It closed in 1830, when the Creek were forcibly removed to Oklahoma. One notable student was Samuel Checote. Nothing remains of the school; the location is a United Methodist Landmark, and there is a historical marker "at the entrance to the Fort Mitchell Park", next to Fort Mitchell National Cemetery. The archives of

Columbus State University Columbus State University is a public university in Columbus, Georgia, United States. Founded as Columbus College in 1958, the university was established and is administered by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. History ...

in Georgia holds a founding document (the agreement between Capers and the Creek chiefs) and a booklet, ''Asbury Manual Labor School-Asbury Mission School; Lost pages from Methodism's Story'' by Marynell S. Waite.

References

{{coord, 32.3458, -85.0235, display=t 1822 establishments in Alabama Defunct Native American boarding schools Native American history of Alabama Russell County, Alabama Defunct schools in Alabama Boarding schools in Alabama Educational institutions established in 1822 Educational institutions disestablished in 1830