Prentiss, MS news and local guide

In 1907 Jonas Edward Johnson and Bertha LaBranche Johnson founded the Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute on 40 acres that still held remnants of slave quarters. Bertha Johnson had studied under Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee, and the school was modeled on it. It began with 40 elementary students whose tuition was often paid in chickens, eggs and produce, and for nearly half a century it was the only high school for African Americans in the area. By 1953 it had a high school and junior college, 44 faculty, more than 700 students and 400 acres. After desegregation it operated as a junior college until 1989. Prentiss lies on the Longleaf Trace, a recreational trail along the old rail line. Sources Wikipedia: Prentiss, Mississippi The Historical Marker Database: Prentiss Institute (Mississippi Department of Archives and History)