William M. Wilson, a native of the Cullowhee area, was born in 1831. He operated a
large farm and was a justice of the peace in the 1860s. The length of his service
as a trustee is unknown.
The Noble Nine supported from the start Robert Lee Madison's dream of training teachers
to spread educational opportunities throughout western North Carolina. Madison was
about to leave in 1889 to take a job in Raleigh, but they pledged to devote their
time and money to realization of his "Cullowhee Idea." They were named trustees of
the newly chartered Cullowhee High School in 1891. The rest is history – the development
of Madison's and the Noble Nine's one hundred twenty-five year old idea into Western
Carolina University.