Williamson Free School: Trades for Free

At a time when trade apprenticeships were vanishing from American life, a Philadelphia philanthropist decided to bring them back. Isaiah V. Williamson founded the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades in eighteen eighty-eight with a mission to teach underprivileged young men a useful trade, entirely free of charge, grounded in character as much as skill.

It was a pioneering model of vocational education at a moment when American industry was rapidly expanding but workers trained in the trades were scarce. The school still operates today and remains the only trade school in the nation that provides full scholarships to every student. Its historic campus in Delaware County is also home to the largest surviving collection of buildings designed by renowned Philadelphia architect Frank Furness.