Institute for Colored Youth
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Begun as a farm school. In 1852 it became one of the first schools to train Blacks for skilled trades and teaching. It gained recognition here under Fanny J. Coppin, principal, 1869-1902. Relocated, it later became Cheyney University.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Beginning as a farm school, this institution grew in 1852 into one of the first schools in the country to train Black students in skilled trades and teaching. Under the leadership of Fanny Jackson Coppin, principal from 1869 to 1902, it earned national distinction for the rigor of its education. Later relocated, it survives today as Cheyney University, among the oldest historically Black colleges in America.
Why it matters
It pioneered advanced education for African Americans generations before it was widely available, and its lineage endures in one of the nation's oldest HBCUs.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer0.5 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Hill-Physick House0.5 mi away · 321 South 4th Street
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial0.6 mi away
- Congress Hall0.6 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Powel House0.6 mi away · 244 South 3rd Street
- Independence Hall0.6 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Italian market0.2 mi away · Christian Street
- Liberty Bell0.7 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Second Bank of the United States0.7 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Carpenters' Hall0.7 mi away · 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- President's House0.7 mi away
- First Bank of the United States0.7 mi away · 120 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
Food & drink
- Talula's Garden0.4 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Daily0.4 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Fat Salmon0.5 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cafe Walnut0.5 mi away · 703 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Maya's Pizza & Grill0.5 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Thank You Thank You Coffee Roasters0.5 mi away · 700 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Alexander Inn0.4 mi away · 301 301 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Philadelphia, PA
- Morris House Hotel0.4 mi away · 225 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fairfield Inn & Suites0.4 mi away · 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- AKA Washington Square0.5 mi away · 834 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City0.5 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown - Center City0.6 mi away · 219 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Fanny Jackson Coppin
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Octavius V. Catto (1839-1871)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1992
Octavius V. Catto was a rising leader of Black Philadelphia in the Civil War and Reconstruction years—an early graduate of the Institute for Colored Youth who became an educator, a military officer, and a tireless organizer for equal rights. On election day in 1871, as he urged Black citizens to exercise their newly won right to vote, he was assassinated by rioters. His death was mourned across the city as the loss of a brilliant champion of equality.
Jacob C. White Jr. (1837-1902)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1991
Jacob C. White Jr., a Black educator, lived here and served for four decades as principal of Philadelphia's Robert Vaux School. Beyond the classroom, he helped found the Pythians, the city's first Black baseball club, and became the first president of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital. His life braided together education, sport, and health care in service to his community.
Benjamin Banneker Institute
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1991
In 1854, free Black Philadelphians founded this literary and educational society in a city that was a hub of antebellum African-American intellectual life. Named for Benjamin Banneker—the self-taught astronomer, almanac author, and surveyor of the new federal capital—the institute embodied the belief that learning was a form of liberation. In an era when most Black Americans were still enslaved, its members cultivated debate, study, and self-improvement as acts of dignity and resistance.
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1995
In 1896 and 1897 the young scholar W.E.B. Du Bois lived in a Philadelphia settlement house while conducting the door-to-door research for "The Philadelphia Negro," published in 1899. That study was one of the first rigorous sociological portraits of an African American community in the United States. Du Bois went on to help found the NAACP and to become one of the most influential Black intellectuals and activists in American history.