John de la Howe School is the oldest educational institution in South Carolina for children under college age. The school was established in 1797 through the will of Dr. John de la Howe, a French physician who served in the Seven Years’ War in Europe and immigrated to Charleston in 1764 and later made his home here to be close to the French Huguenots at New Bordeaux. He left all of his estate to the establishment of an “agricultural seminary” for 12 poor boys and 12 poor girls with the provision that they study the basic courses, agriculture, and related subjects so that they could prosper for a lifetime. In 1832, the Lethe Agricultural Seminary opened its doors as the first school in the nation to offer a manual education program for young people.
John de la Howe School became an agency of the State of South Carolina in 1918 and for many years was known as the “state’s orphanage,” which continued Dr. de la Howe’s desire for children in need to have a home and receive an education in an agricultural setting. In the 1980s, the mission changed to serve children with behavioral and emotional problems, offering a haven for them to grow, heal, and make lasting changes.
After Dr. de la Howe's death in 1797 at age 80, his will also provided that the forest around his gravesite remains undeveloped. In 1976, the National Park Service named this a National Natural Landmark, one of only six such places to have this designation in South Carolina. The school itself is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2017, a Feasibility Study was conducted finding that the John de la Howe School should undertake a mission of becoming a statewide residential high school for agricultural and mechanical studies.
I visited this school as a kid for their harvest festivals and the Huguenot reunions. When I was in high school we would practice for forestry competitions down in the wilderness program with the students residing there. In 2017 I started working for John de la Howe in various positions.