Penn Center
Explore Gullah History
The Penn Center is a 50-acre historic district including 25 buildings and structures on beautiful St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Surrounded by marsh and massive live oaks, the campus was home to one of the nation's first schools for formerly enslaved people. It is a significant African American institution rich with history. Check out Local Fun for more off-island adventures while enjoying your Fripp Island Vacation.
As you start your exploration, visit the Courtney P. Siceloff Welcome Center and Gift Shop, located with the York W. Bailey Museum. There you will find original artwork, books, music, and many other gifts.
Discover and celebrate the Sea Islands and Lowcountry African American culture known as Gullah Geechee. Tours are offered throughout the year and Penn Center hosts the annual Heritage Days Celebration each fall.
Penn Center
16 Penn Center Circle West
St. Helena Island, SC 29920
843-838-7105
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“Center City, July 2019”. #streetsofphiladelphia #comcastcenter #robertamstern #bnymelloncenter #kohnpedersenfox #philadelphia #penncenter #centercity #skyline #LUMIX #shotonlumix
• Lowcountry •
Girls Trip 2021 - We explored the Sea Islands, Beaufort, and Port Royal. We stayed in the town where Harriet Tubman led the union forces and freed over 700 enslaved people. We saw two church ruins that are well over 200 years old. We visited the Penn Center where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gathered with other civil rights activists. The same place that was the first school for formally enslaved individuals in the United States and where he wrote a portion of his “I Have A Dream” speech. We explored the very area that is the heart of the Gullah culture and learned so much about the history of the Gullah Geechee culture. On our very last day, we even got to eat authentic Gullah food at The Gullah Grub.
The humidity was painful but the sights were stunning, the people were kind and welcoming, and the entire area was rich with history.
#lowcountry #seaislands #gullahgeechee #gullahgrub #penncenter #portroyal #beaufortsc #girlstrip
Window shopping. 🎹
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#chestnutstreet #penncenter #philadelphia #visitphilly #phillyfood #igers_philly #phillygram #discoverphl #philly #pennsylvania #pennsylvanialife #igpennsylvania #windowshopping #holidaytravels
Untitled (Vegetable Vendor), 1936
Carew Rice
Silhouette cut-paper on cardstock, framed
Gullah Geechee, Charleston, South Carolina
This vintage Gullah Geechee silhouette, capturing a vegetable vendor beneath the Charleston sun, may appear simple, but works like this were once among the only visual records of Black Southern life. Long before our communities entered official archives, folk artists documented the everyday labor, movement, and survival of the Sea Islands. One could place this piece in conversation with Kara Walker; similarly, how Walker exposes the violent, hidden infrastructures of the South. This earlier silhouette is quieter, but carries the same truth: Black life is here. Black labor shaped this land. Black movement deserves to be seen. That’s why the recent rerouting of the Penn Center Heritage Day parade, one of the oldest Gullah Geechee celebrations, feels strange. Officials cite safety and traffic concerns, but many community members understand the impact: reduced routes, fewer participants, and vehicle traffic running beside marchers. A quiet shrinking of cultural space. Across the South, these “logistical” changes echo a long history of limiting Black public rituals. To a people nearly erased through policy, even small reductions speak loudly. Silhouettes like this resist that erasure. They insist on presence. And like Walker’s cut-outs, this piece stands as evidence of a culture that refuses to be rerouted. Peace
#GullahGeechee #PennCenter #HeritageDays #CulturalPreservation #KaraWalker #BlackFolkArt #SeaIslandsHistory #BlackVisibility #CulturalErasure #BlackArchives #EshuClothing #blackfolksantiqueshow
#architecture #philadelphia #penncenter
Camminando per le strade di Philadelphia #lovepark #philadelphia #penncenter #pennsylvania #usa #red #bluesky
One of the luckiest catches I’ve had in a while! #Philadelphia #Philly #Phillygram #IGersPhilly #PhillyLife #WhyILovePhilly #215shooters #PhillyJawn #VisitPhilly #PhillyPhire #CenterCity #CenterCityPhilly #CenterCityPhiladelphia #PhiladelphiaCityHall #CityHall #PennCenter #Temple #TempleUniversity #TUCC #Sunset #PhillySunset #Urban #Urbanexploring #Urbanex #Urbex #PhillyUrbex
#thanksgiving2019 Road Trip Day 3: we started off today in Beaufort, SC where we had a fantastic breakfast 🍳 (BEST Chai ☕️ of my life) then popped over to Penn Center to learn about Black history & Gullah Culture on the Sea Islands. Then we drove up to Middleton Place to spend an afternoon learning about plantation life. Charleston tonight (& no more major driving 🚗 until Saturday!) #jisforjourney #gullahgeechee #gullahbible #penncenter penncenter #thesouth #lowcountry #middletonplace middletonplace #handsomehubby thefuriosity #milkingcows #farmhand #roadtrip #couplestravel #southcarolina
I ❤ my family! #family #love #mylovebug #momma #penncenter #sthelenaisland #lowcountry #noplacelikehome #marsh #southcarolina #carolinagirl
Visit the York W. Bailey Museum to discover the 86-year history of Penn Center beginning in 1862 through the reconstruction era. Before the museum's dedication it was known as the Cope Industrial Shop, built to house classes in trades such as blacksmithing, basketry, cobbling, harness making and carpentry.
