The photo above shows Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, built in 1928, and the small parochial school next door, built in 1901. Both were founded by Deaconess Anna Alexander, consecrated in 1907 as the only African American deacon in the Episcopal denomination. Her headstone is seen in the foreground. Anna’s story is one of dedication and determination to serve her coastal community of Pennick, near St. Simons Island. In the early 1900s, the schoolhouse served as both church and school, as well as living quarters for Deaconess Alexander. While the school has long been closed, the church remains active.
Anna was born in 1865 to parents formerly enslaved on the Butler Island Plantation across the river from Darien. Her mother, Daphne, was of mixed race, the daughter of plantation manager Roswell King Jr., who later founded the town of Roswell, Georgia. Her father, James, was one of the few enslaved men allowed some education and served as personal assistant to plantation owner Pierce Butler. Daphne and James had eleven children, instilling in them a strong commitment to education and community service. Many were active at St. Cyprian Episcopal Church in Darien.
Anna, raised in the Episcopal Church, found public education in Glynn County lacking for African Americans. She began teaching at the parochial school at St. Cyprian’s, founded by her sister, Mary Alexander Mann. After the Civil War, such church-run schools were often the only source of education for Black children in the region. In 1894, Anna established the Episcopal mission of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Pennick.
The school is one of the few surviving African American church-sponsored school buildings in Georgia. After emancipation, many freedpeople sought education as a path to a better future, often starting with one-room schools like this. A second room was later added, and the building served as church, school, and residence for Anna. In 1998, Anna Alexander was named a Saint of Georgia by the Diocese of Georgia. Her work profoundly shaped the Pennick community and its educational opportunities. In 2022, the Good Shepherd School was listed among the Georgia Trust’s Places in Peril, ensuring its history will continue to be shared for generations.