St. Anne’s Parochial School

This historic marker narrates the story of, the first Catholic church in York County as well as the first school in S.C. to integrate. Founded in 1919 by the Rev. William A. Tobin of Columbia, St. Anne’s was originally built on Saluda Street in 1920 but closed in 1961. St. Anne’s opened its first parochial school in the church rectory in 1951. In 1954 St. Anne’s became the first school in S.C. to integrate when it enrolled five students from St. Mary’s, the predominantly African American Catholic church in Rock Hill. A new St. Anne’s School opened here in 1956.

KEYWORDS: CATHOLIC, RELIGION, EDUCATION, INTEGRATION, AFRICAN AMERICAN, HISTORY, HISTORICAL MARKER