Avery College was a private school for African-American students from 1849 until 1873 in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, U.S. It was initially founded as an industrial school and

AME church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist ...

, and later transitioned into a school for

classical education Classical education refers to a long-standing tradition of pedagogy that traces its roots back to ancient Greece and Rome, where the foundations of Western intellectual and cultural life were laid. At its core, classical education is centered on t ...

, it also contained a lower level used by the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. Avery College was formerly known as the Allegheny Institute and Mission Church, and Avery College Training School.

History

Avery College was founded in 1849 by Rev. Charles Avery (1784–1858) from

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

, New York of the

Methodist Protestant The Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) is a Methodist denomination of Christianity that is based in the United States. It was formed in 1828 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being Wesleyan in doctrine and worship, but adopti ...

denomination, who was also an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, cotton merchant, and an industrialist. It was located at Avery and Nash Streets, and founded as the Allegheny Institute and Mission Church. Established as an industrial school and church, it eventually offered a

. When the school was opened it had 125 students, and was led by George Murray, who was also a professor. From 1863 to 1867,

George Boyer Vashon George Boyer Vashon (July 25, 1824 – October 5, 1878) was an African American scholar, poet, lawyer, and abolitionist. Biography George Boyer Vashon was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the third child and only son of an abolitionist, John Be ...

served as the president.

Jonathan Jasper Wright Jonathan Jasper Wright (February 11, 1840 – February 18, 1885) was an African-American lawyer who served as a state senator and judge on the Supreme Court of the State of South Carolina during Reconstruction from 1870 to 1877. Biography Wright ...

received an honorary LL.D degree from Avery College.

Building

The school was a three-story

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

brick building; the first two floors of the building were classrooms, the third floor was a worship space for the

African Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist ...

's (many of which were affiliated with the A.M.E. Zion Church in Pittsburgh), and the basement was accessed by a trapdoor and was reported used by members of the Underground Railroad to access a tunnel for escape. The school building was demolished after the closure, when they were building

interstate 279 Interstate 279 (I-279), locally referred to as Parkway North, is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that lies entirely within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Its southern end is at I-376 at the Fort Pitt Bridge in Pittsburgh, a ...

in the 1970s.

Closure

After the school's closure in 1873, there was a proposition to reopen Avery College in 1892 led by Rev. J.A. Boyden from Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. By 1899, tensions grew between the church and the school, drawing newspaper coverage. In 1968, a historical marker was added to the former school's location by the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of Pennsylvania's heritage. The commission cares for hist ...

Alumni

* Benjamin Tucker Tanner (1835–1923) AME minister, newspaper publisher, and editor *

Robert Lee Vann Robert Lee Vann (August 27, 1879 – October 24, 1940) was an African American newspaper publisher and editor. He was the publisher and editor of the '' Pittsburgh Courier'' from 1910 until his death. Biography He was born in Ahoskie, North Ca ...

(1879–1940) newspaper publisher, and editor *

(1840–1877), judge

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avery College 1849 establishments in Pennsylvania 1873 disestablishments in Pennsylvania African-American history in Pittsburgh Antebellum educational institutions that admitted African Americans Educational institutions disestablished in 1873 Historically segregated African-American schools in Pennsylvania Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Pittsburgh Universities and colleges established in 1849