In September 1821, the South Carolina Annual Conference sent the Rev. William Capers to Fort Mitchell as "missionary in South Carolina and to the Indians." After negotiations with the chiefs of the Creek Nations, he opened the Asbury Manual Labor School and Mission in 1822 to teach Creek children reading, writing, and other "civilized" skills.

The mission was one mile north of Fort Mitchell near the Indian village of Coweta and may have been the first formal educational effort in the Chattahoochee Valley. The school opened with twelve pupils under the direction of Rev. Isaac Smith. Throughout its history, the school had, on average, 35 to 50 students. There were soon three teachers, several buildings, and a farm of about 25 acres. The school closed in 1830 with the forced removal to Oklahoma of much of the Creek tribe.