On Saturday, November 29, 2025, the Goodwill Educational and Historical Society will celebrate a milestone, as it dedicates the newly renovated Goodwill Parochial School for use as a Cultural Center. From 1870 to 1960 the Goodwill Parochial School, which at one time was sponsored by the Northern Branch of the Presbyterian Church, was an educational institution that educated African American children when the state of South Carolina would not. SC Humanities supported the Goodwill Edcuational and Historical Society’s work with a Planning Grant.
From the 1870s to 1955, the Goodwill Parochial School served children from elementary through high school. After the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, high school students were transferred to a newly built, consolidated high school, and Goodwill Parochial School became Goodwill Elementary School and remained open until 1960.
The building was closed for more than 30 years, until a group of former students and community members formed the Goodwill Educational and Historical Society in 1997 to ”provide educational programs and services that expose an intergenerational community to the history, culture and living heritage…of the Salem Black River community of Sumter County”.
South Carolina Humanities made grants to the Society to help in development and organizational efforts. The most recent grant from SC Humanities enabled the GEHS to develop a comprehensive three-year strategic plan to guide its work from 2024 -2027.
The Goodwill Cultural Center will host programs, events, exhibits, and other activities that share the history and culture of this area of Sumter County. The grand opening will take place on Saturday, November 29, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. at 221 North Brick Church Road, Mayesville, SC 29104. The public is invited to come out and celebrate with the Society, as it dedicates the building for community.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.