This article examines the Snow Hill Institute, one of several 19th-century industrial schools founded for rural Southern black students, following the model of Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute. This case study provides a sketch of William J. Edwards, an early Tuskegee alumnus and founder of the Snow Hill Institute in Wilcox County, Alabama. The document examines Edwards' life, the circumstances surrounding the 1894 establishment of the school, and the political and racial contexts of the time. Edwards worked under discouraging conditions, including contemporary racial stress, the deficient education of the black community, church opposition, and lack of resources. In some areas, Snow Hill's development contrasts with that of Tuskegee, as illustrated by correspondence between Washington and Edwards. Snow Hill's early nature and course content were separatist and agrarian. The heart of the institute was its emphasis on agricultural and manual training. Each course had a definable community and vocational component. By necessity, Edwards became a racial tactician, plotting strategies to survive the racially divided environment. The article concludes that the history and origin of Edwards' school demonstrates that political, economic, and cultural conditions of the time directly influenced educational policy development. The paper includes more than 50 notes that provide historical material on the subject. (TES)