Pine Grove College (Jackson County, KY)

Pine Grove College was a grade school founded by Berea College in Jackson County, KY, in 1882. The school was open to the white and the "slightly colored" children in the community who had been attending school together; their families had been attending the same church, Walnut Chapel, founded by Rev. John G. Fee. 

Pine Grove College had been built in response to the Kentucky school law that mandated common schools be segregated. As a result, there were so few Colored children that no school district was organized for them. The college was an alternative to the state-run common school, allowing children of both races to attend school together.

Reverend William Kendrick of Oberlin had purchased the land for the new school building, and there were a number of financial supporters. The school was managed by a board of trustees and run by Berea teachers Maria Muzzy and Kate Gilbert.

For more see E. H. Fairchild, "Pine Grove College, Kentucky," The American Missionary, 8/01/1882, vol. 36, issue 8, pp. 240-242 [available full-text online at Making of America, Cornell University Library via HathiTrust]. See also entries for African American Schools in Jackson County, KY and African American Schools, both in the NKAA Database.