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.
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.
Thanks to our new partner, Union County Public Library, DigitalNC now features 3 yearbooks [1956, 1958, and 1962] from Winchester Avenue High School, which was the Black high school in Monroe, North Carolina. Winchester first opened as a K-12 school serving the Black community in the 1920s. It was an important institution in Monroe’s Black community, serving as a community center and point of pride for the many students who graduated from the school. That all changed in March 1966 when a fire heavily damaged the school. The high school students and teachers were sent to Monroe High School for the remainder of the 1965-1966 school year, making it the first fully integrated high school in the state. Though plans were already in place for the students to attend Monroe in the 1966-1967 school year, the fire forced the time table for this to speed up. It was particularly hard on some of the seniors of Winchester, who thought that they would be the last graduating class of the historic school. The extra celebrations that were being organized for the “last” class never took place. The lower grades of Winchester were able to continue the school year in the building that was undamaged as well as the gymnasium. It is also believed that the community center and some area churches housed some students.*
One of Winchester’s graduates is a trailblazer whose story has been highlighted very recently, Christine Darden. Darden is a retired engineer and executive from NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, and her story is one of the one’s highlighted in the book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.” Darden [Christine Mann is her maiden name] attended Winchester School through sophomore year before transferring to the Allen School, a boarding school in Asheville in 1956. She served as a sophomore class officer while at Winchester.
To learn more about our new partner, Union County Public Library, visit their partner page here. To see more yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit here.
*Thanks to Patricia Poland for additional information related to the school fire and its aftermath.
Fourteen scrapbooks about Iredell County public schools are now available on DigitalNC, thanks to our partner, the Iredell County Public Library. These scrapbooks document the schools throughout the county from 1970 to 1981, including Mooresville High School, South Iredell High School, North Iredell High School, West Iredell High School, East Iredell High School, Statesville High School Union Grove Elementary School, Troutman Elementary School, and the Board of Education.
One notable topic in these scrapbooks is the planning for and opening of West Iredell High School in 1972. The article below is an announcement of the land for the school being purchased in August 1971.
Another event covered in the scrapbooks is the November 1979 Statesville Christmas Parade. The clipping below shows the North Iredell High School marching band in the parade.
Click here to see all Iredell County schools scrapbooks. To learn more about our partner, the Iredell County Public Library, visit their partner page here or their website here.
The ripples of the Civil War still resonate throughout the United States, especially in the south. North Carolina seceded from the Union in 1861 and joined the confederacy in its fight to maintain the institution of slavery. North Carolina was host to numerous battles during the war and there has been much historical research of those encounters and how towns and people were affected by those tumultuous events. Primary source materials from the Civil War and Reconstruction era are useful for better understanding our past, present, and improving our future as fellow citizens of North Carolina.
Letter certifying that Hollowell was a prisoner of war
Now on our site you can read, though it may be disconcerting at times, original letters and correspondence from J.M. Hollowell, thanks to our partner Wayne County Public Library. Hollowell was a confederate soldier from North Carolina who was imprisoned by Union troops for a period of time during the Civil War. Included in this collection is a memoir, of sorts, by Hollowell that was published in 1939. Based on a series of articles he wrote in 1909 for the Goldsboro Weekly Record, this memoir published nearly thirty years after his death, gives the reader insight into the life, culture, and prejudices of a North Carolina citizen and confederate soldier. Reflecting the views of his peers at the time who were also fighting to maintain the status quo of slavery in the South during the Civil War, this collection of Holloway’s letters and writings gives insight into the daily thoughts of those fighting for the confederacy and how they reacted to Reconstruction, racial progress, and politics following the war. Explore J.M. Hollowell’s documents here.
War-Time Reminiscences and Other Selections by J.M. Hollowell
The latest materials digitized from Rockingham County Public Library are online now, and oh are they wide-ranging. Included in this batch are church bulletins, postcards, audio recordings, local histories, genealogical records, and even an intricate cross stitch of Rockingham County’s not-quite-neighbor, Person County.
Many of these items recount the history of the towns of Leaksville, Draper, and Spray before the three were consolidated into a single town, Eden N.C., in 1967. One of these is the book Leaksville-Spray, North Carolina: A Sketch of its Interests and Industries, which is one of only two copies known to exist today. It gives extensive details about textile and other manufacturing industries in the area during the early twentieth century.
Leaksville’s Morehead Mills was founded by future governor John Motley Morehead, also known as “the Father of Modern North Carolina.”
Other materials included in this batch were created well after Leaksville, Draper, and Spray were incorporated as Eden. The song “The Ballad of Leaksville, Spray, and Draper,” written by Leaksville native John Marshall Carter, laments the merger of the three cities with its chorus of, “I can’t believe that they’ve done this to me, I can’t conceive that they’ve killed history.” This song along with “Olden Days” were digitized from an original 45 rpm record.
“Published Sporadically But Enthusiastically” reads the tagline on the first edition of the Farmer’s Advocate Newsletter.
Also digitized were 70 editions of The Farmer’s Advocate Newsletter from the Historic Jamestown Society — a group dedicated to the preservation of the stories and structures of Jamestown N.C. — spanning from 1975 to 2018.
Rockingham-area genealogists may find some gems in the records of family reunions, vital statistics, church publications, or cemetery survey included in this batch.
All of the items from the most recent batch can be accessed here. To learn more about the Rockingham County Public Library, visit their partner page on DigitalNC or their website.
Winchester Avenue School’s Library Club in the 1965 Buffalo
A new batch of high school yearbooks, provided by Union County Public Library, are now available on DigitalNC. These yearbooks are all from Union County schools, and include Benton Heights High School, Fairview High School, Indian Trail High School, Walter Bickett High School, Wesley Chapel High School, and Winchester Avenue School. The yearbooks include individual and class portraits, photos of student organizations, senior superlatives and more!
The Wesley Chapel High School Biology and Science Club in the 1951 edition of Chapel Hi-Lights
To view the new additions, follow the links below:
Photo in the 14th Street School scrapbook showing classes in front of the school.
Practicing trumpet for the school band in the 14th Street School Scrapbook.
A batch of new materials from Forsyth County Public Library are now available on DigitalNC. Included are two scrapbooks, one from the 14th Street School in Winston-Salem and one from the Society for the Study of Afro-American History in Winston-Salem. Also included are materials from the Malloy/Jordan East Winston Heritage Center and the East Winston Branch Library, and yearbooks from St. Anne’s Academy and Atkins High School.
The 14th Street School educated African-American students in Forsyth County from its founding in 1924 through the 1970s. This scrapbook collects photographs of student activities and events. Included are photographs of sports teams, the school band, dance performances, and class portraits. The 14th Street School acted as a community hub and created lasting bonds within its student body which remain strong to this day. Despite its closure, alumni continue to hold reunions and advocate for the school as an important part of Winston-Salem history.
Additionally a scrapbook from the Society for the Study of Afro-American History in Winston-Salem (now called the Society for the Study of African American History in Winston Salem) collects calendars created from 1989 through 1997. These calendars include images and write-ups of Winston-Salem history and events as well as photographs and information about Society events.
A page of the 1989 calendar by the Society for the Study of Afro-American History showing a reunion of the 14th Street School classes of 1931-1939.
The Maroon and Gold 1948-1949 yearbook from Atkins High School and The Annette 1952 yearbook from St. Anne’s Academy are also now available. Atkins High School was founded in 1930 for African-American students in Winston-Salem. The school was named for Dr. Simon Green Atkins, the founder and first president of Winston-Salem University. Dr. Atkins was born into slavery in 1863 on a farm in North Carolina but was able to receive a public education after the end of the Civil War. He went on to attend St. Augustine College and subsequently dedicated his life to improving education for African Americans.
To see these and the other items from this batch of materials, visit the links below.
From the 1922 Rattler, Raleigh High School’s yearbook. Part of a photo essay of Raleigh.
The Digital Heritage Center partnered for the first time with the Olivia Raney Local History Library in Raleigh to digitize nearly a hundred Wake County school yearbooks, catalogs, reunion books, and graduation programs. The materials, which span 1909-2008, are windows into the daily lives and times of North Carolinians throughout the century.
Some of these yearbooks come from schools no longer in operation. Here, we’ve provided a brief history of each former school (when available), and a link to the volumes from that school (see section “Closed Schools” below). We also digitized yearbooks from schools that still exist today (see “Current Schools” section at end).
Closed Schools
Charles B. Aycock Junior High School (Raleigh, N.C.)
Aycock Junior High School Cheerleaders, 1969.
History: Junior high school in operation from 1965-1979, when its campus was absorbed by William G. Enloe High School, which was built in 1962. The building was and still is known as the “East Building” on Enloe’s campus. Its original students were from the recently closed Hugh Morson Junior High School (formerly Hugh Morson High School).
Volumes: Aycock [1967]; Charles B. Aycock Junior High School [1974]; six of The Owl’s Nest [1968-1973]; two of Owl’s Nest [1975-1976]
Fuquay Springs High School (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.)
Students of Fuquay Springs High School at work, 1953.
History: Three elementary schools in the area joined together to open Fuquay Springs High School in 1918. The was renamed Fuquay Varina High School in 1963 and operated until fall 1970, when it combined with Fuquay Consolidated High School to form the new Fuquay-Varina High School. That school is still in operation today (history from Fuquay-Varina High School website).
History: On September 2, 1925 the students of the overcrowded Raleigh High School moved into the brand new school called Hugh Morson. The school spanned the block of Morgan Street bounded by Person, Blount, and Hargett Streets. It was named for the long-time teacher and beloved first principal at Raleigh High School, Mr. Hugh Morson. Today, all that remains is a plaque and two gargoyles. The school newspaper was The Purple and Gold; its colors, purple and gold. These colors live on today as the colors of Needham B. Broughton High School (more details in this Good Night Raleigh post; history summarized from an excellent entry in Historical sketches of the Raleigh Public Schools by Mrs J. M. Barbee, 1943).
Hugh Morson High School was demoted to a junior high school in 1955 and operated until 1965, when it closed. Over winter break in 1965, the students were transferred to the new Charles B. Aycock Junior High School and the school was officially closed and demolished in 1966.
Volumes: 18 of The Oak Leaf [1927-1955]; Morson Memories [1962]; Hugh Morson High School Class of 1955 50th Year Reunion Memorial Directory [2005]
Hugh Morson Junior High School (Raleigh, N.C.)
Volumes: PTA Year Book [1963]; Morson Junior High [1964]
Raleigh High School (Raleigh, N.C.)
The Raleigh High School building on W. Morgan St, 1923. The school closed in 1929 and was later demolished.
History: Raleigh High School, which preceded both Hugh Morson and Broughton High Schools, was built in 1909 next to “the Raleigh water tower, across the street from fire station #1, on W. Morgan Street” (Good Night Raleigh post). The city of Raleigh decided to build a high school in 1905, reported the News and Observer. The paper also reported that the school’s principal would be Professor Hugh Morson, who ran a successful and well-known boys’ school. The West Morgan Street location was selected for its proximity to both the State and Olivia Raney libraries (the school had no library of its own). The school was built to contain 250-300 students in 1907, but enrollment was soon up to 500. The school built a two-story brick annex during 1921-1922, just east of the city water tower. But schools were soon closed during an influenza pandemic, and the buildings of the high school were used to house patients. In, fact, the school never re-opened. By 1928-1929, the building closed for good, as Hugh Morson and Needham B. Broughton High Schools had both been built. Later the building was used by the Salvation Army, and then divvied up and sold. (Note: history summarized from an excellent entry in Historical sketches of the Raleigh Public Schools by Mrs J. M. Barbee, 1943)
Volumes: seven of The Rattler [1909-1923]; Rattler [1913]; Cylinder [1924]
History: Wakelon School opened in 1908 in an “eclectic brick building” in Italian/Neoclassical style (National Register of Historic Places; the building was added in 1976). It was designed by C. E. Hartage, a Raleigh architect, and features a prominent center octagonal tower. The school’s construction was a big boon for the town of Zebulon, which was incorporated just a year before the school’s construction. Its construction was a result of the 1907 General Assembly act that also established Cary High School. It operated until it was merged with the integrated Zebulon Elementary. The last of the students graduated in the 1980s, and the building was sold to GlaxoSmithKline. It has since been bought back and is now a town hall.
History: In 1869, a school for African-American students was built at West South Street in Raleigh by the American Missionary Society of New York. The school was bought in 1875 by the city of Raleigh and organized as a public elementary school. The school grew, but by 1918 Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College had both discontinued their high school programs, leaving Black students nowhere to pursue education beyond the elementary level. In the fall of 1924, Washington Elementary and High School opened (Historical sketches of the Raleigh Public Schools by Mrs J. M. Barbee, 1943). It was designed by C. A. Gadsen Sayre in the Jacobean style, a popular style for school architecture in in the 1920s, and continued as the only public high school for African Americans in Raleigh from its inception until 1953 (Raleigh Historic Development Commission). The building now holds Washington Gifted and Talented Magnet Elementary School.
Volumes: three of Catalogue [1925-1927], a course catalog and campus publication with photographs of the classes and details of the curriculum; yearbooks: The Chsite [1920]; Chsite [1924], six of The Yrac [1952-1962]
St. Mary’s School (Raleigh, N.C.)
Volumes: The Muse [1917]; five of The Stage Coach [1927-1945]
North Carolina State School for the Blind and the Deaf (Raleigh, N.C.)
Volumes: 21 of The Latipac [1931-1964]; Needham Broughton High School Classes of 1939-1940 Reunion XXXXV [1984]; Perspectives: 50th Reunion, Class of 1958 [2008]; Journeys: NBBHS Class of 1959 50th Reunion [2009]
Here we have issues of Lexington’s The Er-Lantern spanning from 1958 to 1971. Similar Spray’s Fieldcrest Mill Whistle and High Point’s Sew It Seams The Er-Lantern was a company paper depicting everyday life around the Erlanger Mills village.
Er-Lantern September, 1969
Opened in 1914, Erlanger Mills was created by Charles and Abraham Erlanger as a source of cotton for their Baltimore underwear company, which originally produced the one-piece “union suits.” By the 1920s, the company’s 250-ace complex included over employee 300 houses, multiple churches and schools, a hospital, and even its own baseball team. The village was officially annexed into Lexington in 1942 and the mill was sold to Gastonia’s Parkdale Mill Inc. in 1972. In 2008, the village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Er-Lantern November, 1960
Charlotte News and Evening Chronicle February 21, 1917
Photographer H. Lee Waters, who took many of the photos featured in the paper, has a collection of village-life snapshots on their website here.
This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.
