Mather Academy/BHMA (1887-1983)

Browning Hall

BHMA's signature building was dedicated on November 16, 1928. It housed administrative offices, girls' dormitory, chapel/original gymnasium, kitchen and dining hall, and several classrooms throughout its existence. Its namesake was Fanny O. Browning, who'd left $2,000 towards the cost of a frame building that preceded this brick one. The school's first name was Browning Home.

From a Freedmen's Bureau School to Segregation's "Oasis in the Desert"

Mather Academy's genesis was a 1966-1869 Freedmen's Bureau school -- the Camden Normal and Training School -- operated by Sarah Babcock, a white missionary from Plymouth, MA, under the auspices of the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, North.

Years later, as corresponding secretary of the New England Southern Conference of the Society, Babcock urged the group to establish a school on a 27-acre former plantation she'd purchased while in Camden.

School is Renamed Mather Academy

In 1890, the New England Conference purchased the land from Babcock, who had married Rev. James Mather. That year, the first males --- John Maxwell, I.B. English and George McLain --- began attending. In 1900, at Babcock-Mather's request, the institution was named Mather Academy in honor of her husband.

The school taught boarding and day students, expanding the curriculum over the years to include grades one through eleven until 1927 when the 12th grade was added. A kindergarten was added later. Applicants came from other states as the school gained a reputation for excellence.

Reputation for Excellence

Mather Academy was one of the few high schools in the state that went all the way to the 12th grade. In 1937, Mather became a "Class A" school and a member of the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges -- a distinction earned by only three other schools in the state.

During the 1930's, Mather even offered adult night and teacher preparatory courses. The gymnasium and auditorium in the Browning Home administration building/girls' dormitory --- a rarity for any school --- were the preferred sites in the region for many sporting events, concerts, pageants and plays. The Christmas Pageant attracted a large cross-section of the Camden community.

Coexistence

This rare instance of black students co-existing with white and black teachers and administrators in a harshly segregated society made Mather Academy a comparative "oasis" of race relations. Persons associated with the school were regularly ostracized and snubbed by society.

In 1959, Boylan-Haven School in Jacksonville, FL merged and became Boylan-Haven-Mather Academy.

In 1983, the Methodist Women's Division closed Boylan-Haven-Mather Academy due to the Board's new mission priorities, rising costs, and the school's declining enrollment brought on by integration and increased educational opportunities in the public sector.

Oasis in the Desert (See pp. 65-68)

America's "Other" Private Schools

Mather's Predecessor -- Freedmen's Bureau School

Freedmen's Bureau Report

"Normal School - Camden" [1869] report by Mather founder Sarah A. Babcock

Letter Accompanying Report

[Underlined in red] "We have a younger class, coming up which embraces the best and most promising scholars of Camden, which will make fine scholars. " [signed by Sarah A. Babcock] View Transcription

Sarah Babcock Mather

Mather's founder. The school is named in honor of her husband, Rev. James Mather.

Mather Academy Invites Dr. W. E. B. DuBois

W. E. B. DuBois

Lulu Bryan

In 1946, Mather Academy's Principal Lulu B. Bryan, at the request of students, wrote to scholar and civil rights activist Dr. W. E. B. DuBois asking him to speak either at that year's commencement or the school's anniversary in February 1947. He agreed, but the school could not afford his fee that year. She wrote back inquiring if he would come the next year under the same terms.

View their letters.

Mather Buildings

Browning Home

This 1814 former Lang family plantation mansion was the first building, serving as a school, dormitory and office. A frame building built later was named Browning Home after benefactor Fannie O. Browning.

Hubbard Hall

Mather Academy's stand-alone schoolhouse, 1912-1964, bears the benefactor's wife's maiden name.

Bryan Hall (Boys' Dormitory)

Male students boarded in local homes until 1950 when this building was constructed. It included a day room, laundry room and a resident-in-charge apartment.

Brick School

Built in 1964, what became Boylan-Haven-Mather-Academy's final school building was constructed in the shape of the Christian cross. The horizontal section consisted of classrooms and offices. The vertical "stake" was the gymnasium.