(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Schools - Page One
Main Index
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
The
origin
and
history
of
schools,
public
and
private,
in
the
Alderson
community
cannot
be
accurately
traced.
It's
not
known
who
conducted
the
first
schools,
or
their
locations.
Certainly
the
first
school
teacher
was
the
unknown
teacher
killed
at
Baughman’s
Fort
in
1755
by
the
Indians.
He
lost
his
scalp.
In
an
obituary
of
the
Reverend
Lewis
A.
Alderson
in
The
Greenbrier
Independent,
September
29,
1881,
it
is
stated
that
he
was
born
May
5,
1812,
at
Palestine
and
that
he
attended
an
Academy
there
at
an
early
age,
for
four
years.
There
is
no
record
of
a
school
in
this
area
that
long
ago,
yet
this
proves there was one.
About
1809,
the
State
of
Virginia
established
the
Literary
Fund
for
the
education
of
indigent
children.
In
October
1818,
Greenbrier
Court
records
disclose
that
Lewis
Stuart,
Treasurer,
had
$290.03
for
Greenbrier
County
to
educate
poor
children;
Two
local
men,
of
the
many
Commissioners,
were
Curtis
Alderson
and
Joseph
Alderson
and
money
was
appropriated
to
them
to
pay
for
schooling
of
such
children.
This
Fund
was
continued
for
many
years and was the subject of much bitterness between Eastern Virginia and Western Virginia.
The
earliest
schools
were
conducted
in
private
homes
taught
by
tutors,
and
paid
by
those
who
could
afford
them.
There
were
also
rude
log
schoolhouses
known
as
"field
schools",
taught
by
tough
old
school
masters
who
lived
with
the
families
of
their
pupils,
and
were
paid
by
them,
but
these were not free schools.
The
Literary
Fund
was
allowed
to
raise
money
by
lottery
but
it
is
not
known
whether
or
not
this
method
was
used
in
this
area.
The
fund
was
not
popular
as
parents
and
students
felt
ashamed
to
be
virtually
branded
by
being
paupers
by
being
educated
from
its
money.
In
1822-1823,
Monroe
County spent $429.25 at the rate of four cents a day for each poor pupil attending school.
Knowledge
of
early
schools
around
Alderson
is
vague
but
it
is
known
that
there
were
a
number
of
private
schools.
In
the
early
years
of
the
nineteenth
century,
John
(River
Jack)
Alderson
maintained
a
school
where
the
Federal
Reformatory
is
now
located.
It
was
taught
by
Jeremiah
Stevens
of
New
Hampshire,
reputed
to
have
been
a
fine
educator,
writer
and
historian.
Before
1811,
Joseph
Alderson
had
a
school
in
his
home
on
the
Wolf
Creek
Road,
taught
by
his
daughter
Patty.
About
1850(‘?)
or
earlier,
Palestine
Academy
was
located
north
of
the
Baptist
Church
on
the
property
now
owned
by
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Floyd
Lobban.
This
school
was
operated
until
about
the
beginning
of
the
Civil
War.
It
was
taught
by
Oscar
Stevenson.
The
Reverend
J.
A.
Faulkner
was
also
a
teacher.
Palestine
Academy
must
have
been
a
fine
school.
James
Hines,
later
a
well-known
doctor,
was
a
pupil,
as
were
Jacob Lewis and George Alderson. The school stressed the classics, Greek and Latin, and gave performances of Shakespeare's plays.
In
1865
a
Miss
Brown
had
a
school
for
young
children
in
the
Baptist
church.
There
was
in
1866
a
little
red
schoolhouse
on
what
is
now
the
Reformatory
property.
Mrs.
Rebecca
Reed
later
conducted
a
school
in
the
abandoned
barroom
of
the
Virginia
Hotel
which
was
where
the
Quillen
Hardware is now located.
In
1876,
the
Reverend
H.
R.
Laird,
pastor
of
the
Presbyterian
Church,
had
a
school
in
the
old
church.
Later
it
was
moved
to
a
schoolhouse
built
in
1878
on
the
later
site
of
the
Lewis
Banks
home.
Some
of
its
students
were
members
of
the
Hinchman,
Beard,
Mann,
Hancock
and
Alderson
families.
This
same
school
building
was
later
used
by
the
Baptist
minister,
Baylus
Cade,
for
an
Academy.
Dr.
Cary
B.
Johnson
and
James
Prince
taught
there.
Other
early
teachers
in
the
community
were
James
Smithson
and
John
Hines.
A
Miss
Converse
operated
a
school
for
girls
about
1890.
It
was
known
as
Miss
Converse’s
School,
and
was
located
above
the
present
location
of
Copeland’s
Garage.
During
the
nineties,
Professor
Goode
had
an
Academy in the building later purchased by the Alderson Academy for its first classes.
The
first
large
private
school
established
in
Alderson
was
under
the
auspices
of
the
Methodist
Church,
South
—
Allegheny
Collegiate
Institute.
Nat
G.
Barnhart,
a
former
minister
of
the
Methodist
Church
in
Alderson,
has
written
a
history
of
the
A.C.I.
for
West
Virginia
History
Volume
18,
April
1957,
tracing
the
school’s
life.
(Click
on
photo
for
larger view)
The
minutes
of
Lewisburg
District
Conference
from
1874
to
1921,
according
to
the
Reverend
Barnhart,
showed
the
Methodists
were
much
interested
in
Christian
education
and
in
the
establishment
of
a
"District
High
School."
Allegheny
Collegiate
Institute
evidently
was
conceived
by
three
men
of
Alderson,
the
Reverend
J.
H.
Light,
Chase
Bare,
and
Frank
Follansbee.
The
Reverend
Light
was
the
Methodist
pastor
in
Alderson
for
two
years,
I888-1890. Mr. Bare was a leading man in Alderson for many years, and Mr. Follansbee a well known druggist.
The
school
opened
for
the
fall
term
in
1888
and
was
the
property
of
the
Lewisburg
District
of
the
Methodist
Church
and
depended
upon
the
District
for
financial
support.
A
joint
stock
company
was
formed
and,
along
with
several
other
schools
and
colleges
in
the
South,
Allegheny
Collegiate
Institute
became
a
member
of
a
"family"
of
Methodist
educational
institutions.
The
first
Board
of
Trustees
of
fifteen
men
had
but
one
trustee
from
Alderson,
Dr.
J.
B.
Spicer.
At
that
time,
the
Methodist
Church
in
Alderson
was
located
on
Church
Street
in
South
Alderson.
The
school
was
located
at
the
base
of
the
mountain
in
three
buildings
which
were
designed
by
Frank
Follansbee.
The
first
year
there
were
fifty
students
and
the
school
was
a
success.
The
District Conference of 1889 referred to it as "our District High School" The first principal was J. C. Dolly.
In
1890,
for
some
unknown
reason
A.C.I.
had
been
purchased
by
the
Reverend
Morris
Evans,
D.D.,
of
the
Kentucky
Conference,
who
was
principal
until 1893. It is unfortunate that the first students or the first graduates of A.C.I. are not known.
In
1893
the
school
had
a
new
principal,
the
Reverend
C.
A.
Brown,
who
headed
the
school
for
three
years,
and
in
speeches
before
Methodist
meetings
in
1893
and
1894,
referred
to
"my
school
at
Alderson".
In
1894
the
District
Conference
was
considering
buying
A.C.I.
In
1896
Professor
W.
S.
Anderson
became
principal.
During
these
years
A.C.I.
must
have
been
doing
fairly
well
and
enrollment
increasing.
Professor
Anderson
operated
the
school
from
1896
to
1903.
He
was
a
splendid
teacher,
and
afterwards
taught
at
the
University
of
Kentucky
for
many
years.
Apparently,
during
this
period
Professor
Anderson
owned
the
school
but
counted
heavily
upon
the
Methodists
for
at
least
moral
support.
Local
people
were
on
the
Methodist
Board of Education including C. D. Hanger, E. Chase Bare, and S. W. Anderson.
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
