Remembering Suwannee: African American institutes of higher learning in Suwannee County

Eric Musgrove Contributor February was Black History Month, and it is only fitting to discuss some of the accomplishments and contributions of African American citizens here in Suwannee County. Most people will be shocked to learn that Suwannee County (Live Oak in particular) had not one but two African American schools of higher learning (i.e., colleges) at one point in our history. Little remains of these pioneering facilities, which is the topic of today's article. The 1870s was a perilous time for Suwannee County. Reconstruction, race relations, the influx of Northern settlers after the Civil War, financial hardships, etc., caused much strife locally. Among the men who moved to Suwa