Materials dating back to 1876 now online from Union County Public Library

In a new batch of items from partner Union County Public Library, which they digitized themselves, there are materials that date all the way back to 1876.  A catalog for Monroe High School from 1876 details all the classes one could take at the school, which was a white, private, co-educational school that advertised not only to those who lived in Monroe, but in the surrounding area, including South Carolina.  In the first section of the book it lists the enrollment at the school and hometowns of each student.  The cost for 20 weeks at the school was $10-$16 tuition plus $50 for room and board.  page listing the students enrolled at Monroe High School

Other materials from this batch include several Chamber of Commerce publications promoting Monroe, NC, a feature on the new library in Monroe, and the minutes of the Union County Medical Association from 1902 to 1922.  The Medical Association minutes are particularly interesting in mentioning about a Black doctor, Dr. J.S. Massey, being a member in 1903 in what was otherwise an all white organization.  This would have been during a time of increasing segregation and aggression by whites against Black in North Carolina following the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision and the 1898 race riots in Wilmington and the shift in the government in 1900 to a white supremacist Democratic leadership. 

There is also a yearbook from 1954 from Union High School that was located in Lanes Creek Township.  

To view more materials from Union County Public Library, visit their partner page.  


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