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Education in Western North Carolina .
Hunter Library .
WCU
Cullowhee Normal & Industrial School
(Founded as Cullowhee High School, also called Cullowhee Academy.
Later names were Cullowhee State Normal School, Western Carolina Teachers College,
and Western Carolina University)
Founded in 1889 and then chartered by the state of North Carolina in 1891,
the school at Cullowhee developed from a semi-private academy into a state-supported
four-year college during its first forty years.
In 1893 the state of North Carolina began to appropriate funds for the Cullowhee
school and authorized a normal department. In 1905 the state assumed title
to
the school’s buildings and property and made it a state institution. That
same year, the school’s name was changed to Cullowhee Normal & Industrial
School. In 1925 the school’s name was changed to Cullowhee State Normal
School and then in 1929 to Western Carolina Teachers College, as the institution
developed a four-year curriculum.
During its years a Cullowhee Normal, the stated purpose of the school was to
train teachers for the North Carolina public schools. A coeducational institution,
Cullowhee Normal was reported to have trained over two thousand teachers by
the mid-1920s.
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The first two school buildings of Cullowhee High School,
about 1891. The building on the left is the first schoolhouse. On the
right is the Music and Art Building.
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The first school building of Cullowhee High School (also known as Cullowhee
Academy).
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The Music and Art Building, the second building constructed for the Cullowhee
High School, featured a bay window.
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The Music and Art Building, constructed in 1890, was the second building
on the campus of Cullowhee High School.
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Robert Lee Madison (1867–1954), the school's founder,
served as first president of Cullowhee High School, later Cullowhee
Normal and Industrial School, from 1889-1912 and also 1920-1923.
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Cullowhee High School Alumni of 1898.
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Cullowhee High School students, c. 1890s. Under the
school’s
first president, Robert L. Madison, the students wore uniforms.
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The original Madison Building was the first building on the campus of
Cullowhee High School funded by an appropriation from the State of
North Carolina. A
stucco building constructed in 1903-1904, it was a multi-purpose building of
classrooms, offices, and an auditorium. A year after the building’s construction,
the school’s name was changed to Cullowhee Normal and Industrial School.
The original Madison Building was referred to later as “Old Madison” after
it was replaced by a dormitory of the same name in 1939.
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Madison Building was the main building of Cullowhee Normal and Industrial
School until the completion of Joyner Building in 1914.
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A side and back view of the original Madison Building, Cullowhee Normal
and Industrial School, Jackson County, North Carolina.
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Davies Hall was Cullowhee Normal and Industrial School’s
first dormitory. Built in 1909 to house the school’s women students,
it was occupied in January, 1910.
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Joyner Building, like “Old Madison Building,” served as
a combination classroom and administration facility. Constructed in 1913,
it was the focus of the Cullowhee Normal and Industrial School campus
for decades. Until 1952 it housed the school’s library. Unfortunately,
the building was destroyed by fire in 1981.
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Professor Frank Brown’s chemistry class, c.
early 1920s, in the basement of Joyner Building, Cullowhee Normal and
Industrial
School. Note the heavy coats and jackets worn by the students.
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The Training School, seen here c. 1924, was built by Jackson County,
North Carolina, in 1923 on a tract located adjacent to Cullowhee Normal
and Industrial School. The property and building were acquired by Cullowhee
Normal in 1927. Cullowhee Normal students did their practice teaching
at the Training School.
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View of the Cullowhee Normal and Industrial School campus and surrounding
area c. 1924, taken from Dix Gap. Major campus buildings shown include
(from left to right) Moore Dormitory, on the hillside; the Training School,
below in the valley; Joyner Building, on the hillside; and Davies Hall,
on the hillside at the far right.
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View of Cullowhee Normal and Industrial School, c. 1924. The buildings
shown are (from left to right) the Cullowhee Baptist Church; Madison Building,
on the hill above the farm land; the Steam Plant; Davies Hall, located
along the ridge line of the hill; the Music and Arts Building, identified
by its bay window; Joyner Building and Moore Dormitory, both located on
the hill and overlapped due to their close proximity; and the Cullowhee
Methodist Church.
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Cover of the commencement program of Cullowhee High School, May 13 and
14, 1891. Events scheduled in conjunction with early commencements of the
Cullowhee school sometimes covered three days.
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The “Programme” for commencement events of Cullowhee High
School, May 13 and 14, 1891.
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Program from Cullowhee High School’s Seventeenth Annual
Commencement, 1905, featuring the original Madison Building on
the cover.
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The “Class Rolls” from the Seventeenth Annual Commencement program
of Cullowhee High School, 1905.
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Return to:
Education in Western North Carolina .
Hunter Library .
WCU
Send comments or questions to:
George Frizzell
Hunter Library Special Collections
Western Carolina University
176 Central Drive
Cullowhee, NC 28723
828-227-7474
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