In 1904, this visionary black educator created a school from trash – literally

Mary McLeod Bethune’s $1.50 School in Daytona Beach

Mary McLeod Bethune started a school for Black girls in 1904 with just $1. 50 and a dream.

She rented a small Daytona Beach cottage for $11 monthly, then taught six students including her young son.

From there, she built something from nothing.

She made ink from berries, crafted pencils from burnt wood, and stuffed mattresses with moss. As funds ran low, she baked pies to sell to workers nearby.

Within two years, her tiny class grew to 250 students. The school gained wealthy backers, and grew into what we now know as Bethune-Cookman University.

Her historic home in Daytona Beach stands as proof of what grit and vision can build.

She Started a School with Just $1.50 in Her Pocket

Mary McLeod Bethune came to Daytona Beach in September 1904 with her five-year-old son Albert and only $1. 50.

She rented a five-room cottage on Oak Street for $11 monthly, using her small amount as the down payment.

The cottage served as both home and classroom. Her husband Albertus planned to join them later, but they split up, leaving Mary to run her school alone.

Five Little Girls Showed Up on the First Day

On October 3, 1904, the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls opened with five little girls and Mary’s son Albert.

The first students were Anna, Celeste, Lena, Lucille, and Ruth. Each child paid 50 cents weekly to attend. Mary made benches and desks from wooden crates found around town.

She got basic items through charity and gifts from locals who backed her vision.

Trash Became Treasure in Her Resourceful Hands

Mary turned garbage into school supplies with amazing creativity.

She made “pencils” from charred fireplace wood and ink from crushed elderberries. Students slept on mattresses stuffed with moss in old corn sacks.

For writing paper, she used meat-wrapping paper from local butchers. Packing crates became furniture after cleaning and simple fixes.

She searched the city dump and trash piles behind hotels for old linens, kitchen items, cracked dishes, broken chairs, and lumber.

Sweet Potato Pies Helped Pay the Bills

Mary looked through city dumps and trash piles behind fancy hotels to find supplies, clothes, and household items for her school.

To make money, she baked sweet potato pies and made ice cream to sell to nearby construction workers. She rode her bike door-to-door throughout Daytona Beach asking for help and gifts from anyone willing.

The school sat next to the city dump, giving her easy access to materials others threw away but she saw as useful.

Her School Grew from 5 to 250 Students in Two Years

Within two years, Mary’s school grew from just five students to 250. By 1906, word spread through the Black community about the good education children got there.

When the local Ku Klux Klan wanted to burn down the school, Mary stood firmly in the doorway, refusing to back down.

Local Black churches stepped up with money, equipment, and work to keep the school running despite these threats.

A Former Dump Called "Hell’s Hole" Became Their New Home

In 1907, Mary moved her school to land known as “Hell’s Hole,” a former city dump that cost $250.

The new spot sat on what is now Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard. To build the first building, Faith Hall, she hired workers and paid them partly with free classes.

This clever payment plan let her build structures while helping more families.

Brick by Brick, Her Campus Took Shape

By 1918, Faith Hall stood finished along with another two-story building and an auditorium. Mary built another building farther from campus just for boys who started coming to the school.

The small elementary school grew bigger, adding a high school program under the name Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute.

Classes focused on religion, office skills, homemaking, and job training, with special focus on farming.

Her Students Needed Healthcare, So She Built a Hospital

In 1911, Mary opened the first Black hospital in Daytona Beach, calling it McLeod Hospital after her parents.

The place started with just two beds but grew to twenty within a few years.

The Mary McLeod Hospital and Training School for Nurses became the only place of its kind for African American women on the entire east coast.

Her school ran this key healthcare center for African Americans from 1911 until 1927.

Millionaires Took Notice of Her Remarkable Work

James M. Gamble (of Procter & Gamble) and John D.Rockefeller became important white donors supporting Mary’s school.

When she met Rockefeller at his winter home in nearby Ormond Beach, he seemed shocked – he thought from their phone calls that she was white.

Wealthy donors gave $62,000 to help the school grow.

Thanks to Mary’s business skills and talent for organizing, plus this donor support, the school kept growing its reach and impact.

Two Schools Joined Forces to Create Something Bigger

In 1923, Mary’s school merged with Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Florida, which had existed since 1872.

The merger became official in 1925, creating the Daytona-Cookman Collegiate Institute.

Through this smart move, the school got respected Methodist Church ties, opening doors to new resources and support networks.

The merger also changed the school into a coed school for the first time, teaching both young women and men.

From Humble School to Accredited University

In 1931, the school earned accreditation as a junior college and got a new name: Bethune-Cookman College.

The school reached another milestone in 1941 when Florida approved a four-year baccalaureate program in Liberal Arts and Teacher Education.

In 1943, the first group of graduates received their Bachelor of Science degrees in Elementary Education.

What started with $1.50 and five students eventually grew into Bethune-Cookman University, all built from Mary’s determination to educate Black children.

Visiting Mary McLeod Bethune Home, Florida

The Mary McLeod Bethune Home at 640 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard on Bethune-Cookman University campus reopened July 10, 2025 after renovations.

You can tour the 2,500-square-foot house for free and see her original library, personal papers, elephant figurine collection, and photographs.

The house has original artifacts and furnishings from when Dr. Bethune lived there.

Guided tours with knowledgeable docents share stories about her famous visitors. Donations are accepted.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Spain’s religious purge of French Huguenots at Florida’s Matanzas Inlet in 1565
• Spanish conquistadors wiped out Tampa Bay’s ancient Native American civilizations in 150 years of torture and disease
• The first European massacre on US soil: de Soto’s Napituca killings