The Mary Fields School was built in the 1930s for the Black children of Daufuskie Island.

The story of the island life and the disadvantaged African American children was distinguished by noted Beaufort County author Pat Conroy’s book The Water is Wide, which was the basis for the 1974 film Conrack and the 2006 film The Water is Wide.

The book published in 1972 is a memoir. The setting, called Yamacraw Island in the book, is actually based on Daufuskie Island and Conroy’s teaching experience there. As the only teacher in a two-room school, his year with 17 poor black children reflects much of the island’s character and struggles when industrialization across the river threatened their livelihood.

Today the structure is used as a community meeting space and by the First Union African Baptist Church which was the original landowner.

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  Photo by Liz Mitchell