Document: Herbert Charles Green, Junior Colleges in North Carolina. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of North Carolina (1932).

Commentary:

 

Green’s thesis, while an extremely valuable work (given how little has been published on the origins of private junior colleges, especially in the South) must be read with some caution for a number of reasons. First, and most obviously, Green fails to provide any summary analysis of the institutions he lists, failing to note any common themes that led so many small, generally isolated communities to invest in what was, at the time, an institution of uncertain standing. Further, Green makes no mention of university or regional accreditation of these junior colleges, even though, if the Midwest junior colleges are any indication (cf. Burlington Junior College) accreditation was of first importance to an institution and its supporters. Second, there is no assurance that Green’s listing is comprehensive. Green fails to indicate if he had either compared his set of institutions against either the AAJC’s inventory of junior colleges, the first of which was published in 1931, or had contacted North Carolina’s department of education to determine if it was aware of any junior colleges he may have overlooked. Third, Green’s list includes only white institutions; if there were black junior colleges in this segregated state, Green ignores them. Last, the brevity of the entries for each college leads one to believe that Green had done nothing more than simply transcribe the brief institutional history that most colleges include in the front matter of their catalogues.

 

Yet, even with these caveats in mind, Green’s thesis is still valuable in that it provides a degree of insight into the circumstances which surrounded the establishment of what was, in contrast to others, a surprisingly large number of private junior colleges for one state (only Missouri appears to have approached the number found in North Carolina).  In reviewing all of the junior colleges listed by Green, what is striking is that there was no consistent process by which they were established. Some evolved from what were essentially secondary schools or academies, while other junior colleges were the product of local initiative – organized, in one case, as a joint stock company. Others were essentially proprietary institutions that, in time, were taken over by religious denominations, while some had denominational support from their opening, as in the case of Belmont Abbey (which continues to this day as Belmont College and abbey under the control of the Roman Catholic Church). At least in the case of North Carolina, there is no indication that its junior colleges, whether private or public, were the outgrowth of some common ideologically, and especially a desire to extend access to higher education to the historically underserved.

 

For all their differences in the factors that led to their organization, the majority of junior colleges listed by Green shared two common characteristics. The first is that many began as an academy or other form of secondary school. It is likely, as was explicitly the case in Mississippi, that the spread of public high schools after the Civil War left these institutions, in order to remain open, had no option but to expand their curriculum upward – becoming a junior college -- and take advantage of a new market niche.[1] The second characteristic is that the majority of these junior colleges were particularly, if not exclusively, committed to the education of women.  If the early Midwestern junior colleges are any indication, it is likely that the young white women who attended one of Green’s junior colleges  intended to secure either a provisional teaching credential from their county school superintendent or an appointment through a denominational board of education to the faculty of an academy for the few years preceding their marriage. The education of young men was not of comparable concern to the local communities that sponsored these junior colleges, as it was generally assumed by the generally affluent parents of young men that the increasingly large and impersonal universities posed less of a threat to their moral development. The education of young women, however, was an entirely different matter. Conservative middle class parents believed that their daughters, many of whom were only 16, required close supervision to protect them from the dangers of unsupervised university life, a fear strongly encouraged by the presidents of small denominational colleges. If left unsupervised, went the argument, young women attending a large state university would quickly succumb to peer pressure and engage in such morally questionable practices as dancing, smoking, unsupervised dating, and even the use of hard spirits.[2]

 

Last, if one dates the end of the colonial period from 1783 and the surrender of Cornwallis, then one could reasonably add Belmont College to the short list of America’s colonial colleges, given its establishment in 1778. Unfortunately, if is unclear from whom the college secured its charter, if conditions in North Carolina were sufficiently unaffected by the Revolutionary War that one was required by either its colonial legislature or the Crown through its colonial governor.   

    




Document:

JUNIOR COLLEGES IN NORTH CAROLINA



BY



HERBERT CHARLES GREEN








A thesis submitted to the Faculty

of the University of North Carolina in

partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the Degree of Master of Arts in

the Department of Education





Adviser

E.R. Mosher



Chapel Hill

1932

CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGES IN NORTH CAROLINA



            The following brief historical sketches of the junior colleges in North Carolina depict some of the conditions which were conducive to the development of these institutions and thus provide a foundation on which to base a study of the junior colleges in this state at the present time.



Belmont Abbey

            This institution was established at Belmont, North Carolina, in 1778 by monks of the Order of Saint Benedict. In 1885 it was raised to the Abbotal and Reverend Leo Haid became the first abbot. He brought to Belmont monks trained as teachers and increased the physical plant of the college to three times its previous size. The library was made larger, a cathedral was constructed, and laboratories were installed. In 1900 a fire destroyed the buildings but they were soon replaced. Rt. Reverend Vincent Taylor has been president of the institution since 1924. During his administration the school has become a junior college. (1)1



Louisburg College


            Louisburg College, located at Louisburg in Franklin 5 County, originated in 1779. When Franklin County was founded that same year, twenty-six acres of land was used by the city school while the other half was procured by Louisburg Female Collage Corporation. During the same year, the corporation erected a school building on this site which opened its doors to both boys and girls. The school was called "Franklin Academy for Males and Females." Matthew Dickerson assumed control of the new institution. A charter was granted to the school in 1786. In 1802 the corporation decided to transform the academy into a seminary for girls. A new charter was secured and the name was changed to "Louisburg Female Seminary.


            In 1855 the people of Louisburg decided that the needs of the community demanded a college. Therefore, a Joint stock company was formed for the purpose of organizing "a college of high standards for young women." Two years later the reorganized institution began its work as a private enterprise. Washington Duke, who obtained the college property in 1891, held it until his death in 1907. A few months later his son, Benjamin Duke, bequeathed the college to the North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. A Board of Trustees was elected who accepted the property on behalf of the Conference. (2)

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Weaver College

            In 1836 The Holston Annual Conterence met in Weaverville, and to accommodate this organization, a wooden building was erected. This building, known as the "Conference House" was used as a community school building until it was destroyed by fire in 1854. It seems that the "Sons of Temperance" in their fight against strong drink, obtained a large following in Weaverville during the fifties. However, some of the church members of the community became disgruntled because these temperance meetings were being held in their church. Some of these "old time Methodists" transferred their membership to the Methodist Protestant Church. Not long afterwards "Temperance Hall" was erected which served as a school house until 1872 when it, too, was destroyed by fire.

            Fee1ing the need for a school, the community soon drew up plans for another building. This school building, which was soon erected, had six rooms. In 1872 the new school was incorporated under a Board of Trustees as Weaverville College. This Board of Trustees was independent of any denomination until the college was given to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in 1883. The charter remained unchanged until 1912 when it was amended to the effect that the name should be changed to Weaver College

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and that it should be a junior college. (3)

Saint Mary's School

 

            In 1832 the present location of Saint Mary's School at Raleigh was set aside for an Episcopal Church. However, some of the outstanding members of the Episcopal Church accepted the plan offered by Bishop Ives which was to buy the present site as a part of a hundred and sixty-acre tract of land to be used as a location for a boy's school. East Rock House, West Rock House, and the main building were erected to accommodate this boy's school. The school seems to have flourished for a while, but it was soon abandoned and the property passed back into private ownership.

            Dr. Albert Smedes, who was an Episcopal preacher in New York City, had retired from his work on account of a throat disorder and was conducting a girls school in New York City. Bishop Ives pointed out to Dr. Smedes the opportunity for establishing such a school in North Carolina. Due to this suggestion and, to the fact that this state has a much milder climate than New York, Dr. Smedes brought a corps of teachers to Raleigh and reopened the school which had recently been conducted for boys only.

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girls were allowed to matriculate at this institution which had been given the name Saint Mary’s School.

            The School was very successful under the guidance of Dr. Smedes. Following his death in 1877, his son, Rev. Bennett Smedes, who had been a teacher in the institution, filled the place left vacant by his father. He remained in this position for twenty two years. Though the head of Saint Mary’s school for the first fifty years of its existence had been an Episcopal minister, it had been a private corporation. Dr. Bennett Smedes realized that to give permanence to the school it must have a more stable foundation. To achieve this realization, Dr. Srnedes suggested that the Diocese of North Carolina accept control of the school. This suggestion was accepted and the Episcopal Church appointed the trustees and bought the school property.

            During the life of Dr. Albert Smedes, "Saint Mary's was a high class school for the general education of girls, the training being regulated by the needs and exigencies of the times." No students graduated during this time but in 1879 "set courses were offered and the first class was graduated the same year. According to the charter in 1897, the faculty of Saint Mary’s "with the advice and consent of the Board of Trustees shall have the power to confer such degrees and such marks of distinction as are usually conferred by colleges and universities."

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            The work done there at the present tine is college preparatory and junior college work. (4)



Mitchell College

            In 1852 the Concord Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church began to lay plans for a womans College. The first building was begun in 1855 in the town of Statesville, and being partly demolished during the course of erection, was completed in 1857. The school had already opened the improvised quarters in 1857 under the leadership of Professor Tinsley. The Institution was given the name Concord Female Seminary. The financial condition of the institution was so precarious in 1873 that the college property was sold to R. I. Simoton of Statesville. The school was then called Simoton Female College until 1896 when it was purchased by J. B. Shearer. The new owner repaired the buildings, put J. B. Burwell in charge, and changed the name to Statesville Female College.

            Dr. Shearer deeded Statesville Female College to Concord Presbytery in 1900. For several years afterwards the college was controlled jointly by Concord and Mecklenburg Presbyteries. The plant was enlarged in 1907 through donations made by W. F. Hall and other friends of the institution. The name of the school at this time was changed to Shearer Music Hall in honor of J. B. Shearer.

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            In 1918 the name was changed to Mitchell College in honor of Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell Grant who had been president, and her sister Miss Margaret Mitchell. They were the daughters of Dr. Elisha Mitchell who was an eminent scientist and professor at the University of North Carolina and who lost his life while exploring Mount Mitchell. (5)



Davenport College

            At Center Camp Meeting in 1855 about twelve thousand dollars were raised for the purpose of establishing a college at Lenoir. The institution was established and was called Davenport College in honor of Colonel Davenport who gave a large part of the money for the establishment of the institution. The Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South assumed ownership of and control over the institution in 1857. During the same year the bishop appointed the first president, and a Board of Trustees was appointed by the conference.

            The college was destroyed by fire in 1877, and though the building was partially rebuilt in 1881, it was used for nothing more than a secondary school for the community for the next twenty years. In 1893 the school property was given to the Western North Carolina Conference. At the time of transfer the school was under lease.

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            In addition to attempting to bring the lease to a close, the conference wished to transform the institution into an industrial school for women. As the industrial idea was soon discarded, the Conference concluded that it would be better to reorganize the school in conformity with the practices of its founders.

            Reverend C. M. Pickens was made President of Davenport after it came under the direct control of the Western North Carolina Conference in 1899. The student enrolment has increased so rapidly since 1899 that it has been necessary to build several new structures to accommodate all the students. Funds have been donated by J. B. Cornelius, B. N. Duke, and friends in the town of Lenoir. Cornelius gave the college a dormitory and an administration building in 1914. The combined gifts of B. N. Duke and people in Lenoir made possible the construction of a new dining hall in 1926. B. N. Duke also gave the college $50,000 as an endowment fund. (6)

 

Mars Hill College

            Under the leadership of I. A. G. Brown and P. 1. Anderson "The Female Broad Baptist Institute" opened in 1856. However, when a charter was secured in 1859, the name was changed to "Mars Hill College." This charter gave

12

 

the college the power of conferring all the titles and degrees that colleges and universities confer. This power has neither been used nor lost. Soldiers were quartered in the buildings during the Civil War during which time a dormitory was burned and the remaining buildings severely mutilated. Though the school was reopened in 1865 the next twenty five years constituted a precarious period for the institution. Nevertheless, since the election of F. H. Hufham as president in 1890, the college has made marked progress. (7)

 

Peace, A College for Women

 

            Several prominent men in the Synod of North Carolina wished to establish a high grade college for young women in Raleigh. The culmination of this desire was the establishment of Peace Institute. Its name was derived from William Peace who donated $10,000 and land for the college. The unstable condition caused by the Civil War delayed the opening of the new institution for several years. The property was leased by Robert Burwell and his son John in 1872. The latter became head of the institution remaining in this position until 1890. Six years after the lease was granted, the property was bought by a joint stock company composed of several business men in Raleigh.

13

 

            James Dinwiddie secured a lease on the property some time before the lease granted to Burwell and son expired. Thus Dinwiddie assumed control of the school when the Burwell lease ended in 1890. He remained head of the school until 1907.

            Due to failing health, Mr. Dinwiddie was forced to give up the school. Being anxious, however, for the school to be under Presbyterian influences, he appeared before a session of the first Presbyterian Church in Raleigh and offered to sell the property at a personal sacrifice. A committee appointed to investigate the offer purchased the property and the institution came under the control of the Presbyterian Church in 1907. (8)

 

Rutherford College

            This institution was established several years before the War Between the States. Being created to meet local needs, it remained a school of this nature until 1871. At this time John Rutherford gave two hundred acres of land to the school authorities on the condition that the institution would be converted into an academy. The academy was established and remained such for two years, when two hundred additional acres of land were given to the school with the understanding that the academy be changed

14

 

into a college.

            After accepting this grant of land the authorities renovated the buildings, expanded the curriculum, and secured a charter from the state legislature. The Western North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South assumed control of the school in 1900. For several years afterwards the school was conducted as a secondary school for boys, but at the present time it is a co-educational institution doing junior college work. (9)

Concordia College

            Along with other religious sects which came into North Carolina during colonial days were the Lutherans. They settled in Caldwell County and vicinity. Like the other religious denominations, they were interested in education as shown by the fact that they established a junior college ad (sic) Condover in 1881. This institution was called Concordia College. (10)

 

Campbell College

            Buie's Creek Academy, which in 1887 consisted of a one room building, was owned by the public school system. J. A. Campbell, the principal of the school, erected a school building after a fire of 1900 had destroyed the one

15

 

owned by the public school system. In 1911 Buie's Creek Academy was incorporated and twenty trustees were appointed by the Little River Association of the Southern Baptist Church. Until recently the dormitories have been owned and operated by the trustees, while Mr. Campbell owned and operated the school.

            In view of the fact that the public high schools were attracting more and more students of secondary school age with the consequent development of a greater demand for college accommodations, the Trustees of Buie's Creek Academy decided in 1924 that the first two years of college work should be offered. Mr. Campbell, who was still head of the school, presented the suggestion to the Baptist Board of Education. This Board authorized only one year of college work. Thus in 1926-27 one year of college work was added to the preparatory curriculum. The next year, however, upon recommendation of the Baptist State Convention, the curriculum was elevated to two years of college work and the name of the institution was changed to Campbell college. (11)

 

Wingate Junior College

            In.1895 the Union Baptist Association authorized the establishment of a school for the higher intellectual, moral and religious training of the boys and girls of the Association and the surrounding country. A committee was

 

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appointed to find a desirable location for this new institution. After investigating several possible locations, the committee selected the village of Wingate. During the last decade of the nineteenth century, only a few private and public schools existed in Union County. No such schools were located in the vicinity of Wingate. Consequently, this school met a real educational need by providing both primary and secondary educational opportunity for the community.

            The school at first consisted of only a three room building, but as the enrolment increased, more space was provided. Much of the early building was done by the citizens of Wingate. In 1912 the Pee Dee and Anson Associations assumed joint ownership and control of Wingate school with the Union Association. About the time the Wingate school was placed on the accredited list in 1920-21 a public school was established in Wingate. All of the primary students in the Baptist school transferred to the public institutions.

            Three years later the Baptist State Convention took charge of the Wingate School and converted it into a junior college. Professor C. U. Black, was elected president but served only a short while. He was succeeded by J. B. Huff who served in this capacity until 1930. The College was placed on the accredited list in 1925. (12)

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Boiling Springs College

 

            The outstanding members in the Kings Mountain and Sandy Run Associations had for many years wanted an associational school. When the Kings Mountain Association met in 1904, it decided definitely to build such an institution.

            A location on the border of Kings Mountain and Sandy Run Associations was selected as a site for the proposed school. Both associations built the school and remained in control until 1919. At this time, Gaston County Association accepted an invitation to assume part ownership and control of the school. The institution was raised to the junior college level in 1928. (13)

 

Montreat Normal School for

Young Women (14)


            The Presbyterian Conference at Montreat was offered to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1915 by R. C. Anderson, President of Mountain Retreat Association, to be used as a normal school for girls. The offer being accepted, the school opened in 1916. The only cost for the use of the building is for general upkeep during the school year. (15)


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Pineland College for Young Women



            Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Jones, who were the founders of the Pineland School for Girls, established Pineland Junior College for Young Women in 1924. The former school is now the preparatory department of the junior college. As private ownership made it almost impossible to secure funds for the institution, in 1926 all the property was deeded to a board of thirty trustees. Though all of these board members are church members the college is "non-sectarian and undenominational." (16)



Mountain Park Institute



            The founder of Mountain Park Institute, J.H. Fulghum, could scarcely read words of two syllables at the age of twenty-eight. At this age he became a Christian, after which he decided to prepare himself for the ministry by first attending Berry School at Rome, Georgia. From here he went to a school in Chicago and later to Mercer University.

            After preaching in North Carolina for a time, he requested that Senator Hayman give the Berry school financial aid. The Senator refused this request but promised to aid Fulghum financially in establishing a school in the mountains of North Carolina similar to the Berry School in Georgia. This financial aid was readily accepted, and


                                                                                                                                                            19



Fulgham soon began to search for a suitable location for the prospective school. At this time, which was about six years ago, a school by the name of Mountain Park School was being conducted by the Baptists at Mountain Park, North Carolina, but due to indebtedness, the institution was offered for sale. Senator Hayman bought the property, and deeded it to the Trustees of the Mountain Park Institute. No College work was offered until 1928. In 1929-30 two years of college work were offered (17) and the institution became a junior college.


Buncombe County Junior College


            This junior college, which was begun in 1927, was originated by the County Superintendent of Schools for Buncombe County. It is supported by county taxes and is controlled by the County Board of Education. (18)


Presbyterian Junior College for Young Men



            In 1929 the Trustees of Elise High School asked the Fayetteville Presbytery for authority to start a movement for the establishment of a junior college in connection with Elise High School. As a result of this request, the Presbytery appointed a committee to investigate possible locations for the institution, the cost of con-

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struction, and the possibility of securing the cooperation of the other presbyteries. A similar committee was appointed by Mecklenburg Presbytery. This committee suggested an abandoned Methodist school in Maxton as a desirable place to secure. This property was obtained and the new college for men opened its doors here in 1928. (19)

 

College of Saint Genevieve of the Pines

            Reverend Louis Lafosse opened the first institution sponsored by the Order of Christian Education in France in 1817. Mother Deplanck, a member of this order, came to America in 1908 and founded a school at Asheville; this institution is called St. Genevieve of the Pines.14   

 

            According to table I churches have been responsible for the establishment of a majority of the institutions which are now junior colleges. The Presbyterians lead in the establishment of these institutions with four, while the Baptists rank second with three, and the Catholics come third with two. The Methodists, Lutherans, aid Episcopalians organized one each. Three junior colleges evolved from local community schools, one developed out of an academy, one form (sic) a private gift, one from private endeavor, and Buncombe County established one.

1. Belmont Abbey College Catalogue, 1930-31, p. 10.

2. Louisburg College Catalogue, 1929-30, p. 10

3. The Weaver College Bulletin, 1926-27, p. 10.

4. Saint Mary's School Bulletin 1930-31, p. 11-13.

5. Bulletin of Mitchell College, 1930-31, p. 7-8.

6. Catalogue Davenport College for Women 1930-31, p. 10.

7. Mars Hill Quarterly Vol. XXVI, No.1, P. 16-17.

8. Peace, A College for Young Women Catalogue 1930-31, p.11-12

9. Catalogue Rutherford College, 1929-30, p. 14.

10. Annual Catalogue of Concordia College, 1929, p. 1.

11. Catalogue of Campbell College 1929-30, p. 19.

12. The Monroe Journal 1930, Monroe, N.C.

13. Boling Springs College Catalogue 1930-31, p. 14-15.

14. St. Genevieve College of the Pines Catalogue 1930-31, 109-110

15. Montreat Normal School Catalogue, 1929-30, p. 8.

16. Pineland College for Young Women, 1929-30, p. 8.

17. Bulletin Mountain Park Institute 1929-30, p. 11.

18. Letter from Buncombe Junior College

19. Catalogue Presbyterian College for Men 1929-30.


[1] It is a remarkable, but generally unrecognized fact that a great many junior colleges of the 1920s and 1930s, both public and private, were not creations ex nihlo, but developed out of other institutions that were on the brink of closure for any of a number of possible reasons, but most often competition from the growing number of tuition free, programmatically-comprehensive public high schools. The Mississippi system of junior colleges, the nation’s first true system of public junior colleges, began as a system of state-supported, residential high schools before state law was revised to encourage local public high schools. Another example is Bentham College of Texas, which began in the 1880s as the ministerial college for its region’s large population of German-speaking Methodists. Unfortunately for the college, few young German immigrants wanted to become ministers, and the German immigrants quickly assimilated into the dominate English-speaking culture. But institutions, once established, show a remarkable ability to find ways to persevere. In the case of Bentham College, it retained its small ministerial college program, but added a wide range of programs – from what were essentially grammar and high school programs to a relatively successful business program – to generate the revenue to keep its doors open.  However, enrollments were never substantial, and even the attempt to build support for the college with a winning football team (which was little more than a group of ringers) failed. But the college kept its doors open, and after securing the passage of an extraordinary piece of legislation by the Texas legislature and winning a hard-fought election, finally secured its future by gaining a permanent millage and standing as its two-county district’s public junior college.

 

[2] It is a common complaint among higher education faculty that today’s students lack the skills and commitment of earlier students. If Green’s thesis is any indication, this presumption should be reconsidered. It is hard to imagine a thesis on which less effort was expended.