The Massie Heritage Center, a unit of the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, is housed in three nineteenth-century Greek Revival buildings situated on Calhoun Square in Savannah's 2.2 square mile Historic Landmark District. Massie School served as a public elementary school, Savannah's first, from its opening in 1856, until it was closed in 1974. Shortly thereafter, the buildings were reopened as the Massie Heritage Center, a rebirth due in large part to the efforts of a group of concerned citizens and school officials who came to be known as the Friends of Massie Committee.
Today, Massie is a museum and a resource center for Heritage Education, especially as it relates to Savannah's history and its environment. The Massie Center hosts thousands of students each year who attend educational programs that link Savannah's Historic Landmark District to the learning objectives required by the school district in various disciplines and at all grade levels. Massie also hosts hundreds of teachers each year for professional development programs on subjects ranging from Savannah's city plan and squares, architecture, and historic preservation, to humanities and character education, foreign affairs, and surveys of American history.
Five teaching installations-Savannah's City Plan, Savannah's Architectural Heritage, Savannah's Victorian Era, The Debatable Lands, and The History of Massie-serve as starting points for excursions into the rich heritage of Savannah, the first city of the thirteenth and final English colony in America. Massie's authentic nineteenth-century classroom serves as an environment in which students may relive a day in the life of their educational predecessors. A multicultural resource library, as well as a heritage and history archive and library, serve as research tools for students and teachers alike. All of these elements make the Massie Heritage Center a treasure to students, teachers, and visitors of Savannah, Georgia.
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Massie's Mission
Massie Heritage Center serves as a collection of teaching installations designed to facilitate instruction and to enhance learning for students in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. Through participation in programs at the Massie Heritage Center; students will gain a greater understanding of community, citizenship, and character. |
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For more information about Massie's programs, visit our web site at http://www.massieschool.com/
