Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site
About the Institute:
The Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site contains the campus of Tuskegee University, a historically black university founded in 1881. Opened as the Tuskegee Normal School, it was created by the combined efforts of a former slave and a former slave owner. The school has been associated with many prominent African Americans, including Booker T. Washington who was the school's first president, and George Washington Carver, who was one of the school's early professors. Still an operating university, in 1881, Booker T. Washington arrived in Alabama and started building Tuskegee Institute both in reputation and literally brick by brick. He recruited the best and the brightest to come and teach here including George Washington Carver who arrived in 1896. Carver’s innovations in agriculture, especially with peanuts, expanded Tuskegee’s standing throughout the country.
The historic site contains attractions such as the George Washington Carver Museum, dedicated to exploring the life of this inventor and Booker T. Washington. Take a guided tour of Washington's residence, the Oaks, or simply stroll around the campus's historic buildings. Located in the town of Tuskegee, the school is not far from the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.