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TO CONGRATULATE THE FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENT BODY OF THE GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL FOR AGRICULTURE AT JOHN DE LA HOWE AS THEY CELEBRATE THE TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF DR. JOHN DE LA HOWE, WHICH DEEDED PROPERTY TO HOUSE SUCH A SCHOOL.
Whereas, the South Carolina Senate is pleased to learn the Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe will soon be celebrating the two hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of a vision for the school; and
Whereas, in 1797, the last will and testament of French physician Dr. John de la Howe conceived of the idea by providing that his Lethe Plantation in the Ninety Six District was to be conferred to the Agricultural Society of South Carolina for the establishment of a "farm school" for underprivileged children; and
Whereas, Dr. de la Howe's vision began to take shape in 1832 with the establishment of the Lethe Agricultural Seminary in buildings constructed from "logs or rough-sawn lumber" on the property; and
Whereas, an act of the South Carolina General Assembly in 1918 brought the Lethe Agricultural Seminary under the wing of the State of South Carolina as an official state agency, called the John de la Howe School, and expanded the mission to welcome students from across the State; and
Whereas, in 2020, after several evolutions of its mission, the John de la Howe School was revitalized when the General Assembly refined the school's mission once again with legislation creating the South Carolina Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe. Governor Henry McMaster visited the campus in December 2020 for a ceremonial signing of the bill; and
Whereas, on the current 1,310-acre campus, the vison of Dr. de la Howe is being realized at last through the mission of the South Carolina Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe; and
Whereas, the South Carolina Governor's School for Agriculture is the nation's only residential high school devoted to agricultural education, and since beginning its new mission in 2020, its enrollment has more than doubled to nearly eighty students who currently attend classes at the school; and
Whereas, to commemorate the two hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of the last will and testament of Dr. John de la Howe, which first cast the vision for an agricultural school, the school will hold a 1797 Celebration on November 5, 2022; and
Whereas, the South Carolina Senate celebrates with the Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe in order to remember the largesse of the benefactor who had a vision for such an institution. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate:
That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, congratulate the faculty, staff, and student body of the Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe as they celebrate the two hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the last will and testament of Dr. John de la Howe, which deeded property to house such a school.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe School.
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