(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Schools - Page Two
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
In
1902
the
Methodist
District
Conference
decided
to
buy
A.C.I.
Additional
trustees
were
chosen
to
arrange
the
purchase.
They
were
C.
L.
John,
W.
B.
Morton,
G.
W.
Graves,
A.
W.
Johnson,
A.
E.
Smith,
R.
D.
Nuckles,
David
Tuckwiller
and
R.
C.
Slaughter.
They
were
to
take
control,
arrange
for
the
next
session,
appoint
a
financial
agent,
publicize
the
school,
and
raise
money.
The
price
was
$7,000.00.
The
citizens
of
Alderson
had
raised
$3,000.00
in
1901
to
support
the
school,
which
indicates
the
local
faith
in
A.C.I..
1901
was
quite
a
year
for
schools
in
Alderson.
The
Baptists
opened
the Alderson Academy that year, and a fund raising drive was in progress which took some students and support from A.C.I.
In
1903
the
principalship
of
the
A.C.I.
was
assumed
by
the
Reverend
E.
A.
Rippey
but
he
and
the
Trustees
disagreed.
The
Reverend
L.
S.
Shires
was
elected
to
fill
the
vacancy
but
stayed
only
a
short
time,
and
Dr.
H.
A.
Scomp,
L.L.D.,
became
principal.
Dr.
Scomp,
a
nearly
blind
Greek
scholar,
stayed
until
1908.
He
had
written
a
Greek
textbook,
the
work
of
a
lifetime,
the
manuscript
of
which
was
burned.
Having
become
blind,
he
could
not
rewrite it. He is reported to have been one of the A.C.I.’s finest teachers.
A
catalogue
of
A.C.I.
for
the
thirteenth
session,
1905-1906,
and
the
fourteenth
session,
1906-1907,
says:
"Allegheny
Collegiate
Institute
property
of
the
Lewisburg
District,
Baltimore
Conference,
M.E.
Church,
South,
A
High
Grade
School
for
both
Sexes.
Session
opens
September
4
and
closes
May
24".
E.
Chase
Bare
was
Treasurer
of
the
Board
of
Trustees,
and
G.
W.
Graves
and
R.
C.
Slaughter
of
Alderson,
with
thirteen
others
from
other
addresses,
were
members.
Two
of
Dr.
Scomp’s
family,
both
with
B.A.
degrees,
the
Misses
Viola
and
Corrine
Scomp,
were
teachers.
Other
teachers
were
Frank
A.
Cooper,
Miss
Mary
E.
Johnson,
and
Miss
Alethea
Alderson
who
is
a
poet
and
retired
librarian
now
living
in
Washington,
D.C.
(Her
collected poems have been published in two volumes, The Far Call, and This Thing Called Peace.) Mrs. David Tuckwiller was Matron.
In
1906
A.C.I.
was
having
financial
difficulties,
a
common
ailment
of
small
church
schools,
and
it
was
for
sale.
The
Trustees
had
authority
to
consolidate
the
school
with
any
other
type
school,
or
to
sell
it.
It
was
purchased
in
1908
by
the
Reverend
E.
H.
Rowe
and
the
Reverend
J.
IS.
Engle.
Mr.
Rowe
was
President
of
Southern
Female
Seminary,
and
continued
in
that
capacity.
The
Reverend
L.
S.
Shires
became
principal.
In
1909
A.C.I.
reported
its
most
successful
year
and
the
Methodist
Conference
still
had
keen
interest
in
it.
This
success
continued
but
Messrs.
Rowe
and
Engle
in
1912
reported
to
the
Conference
that
they
had
lost
money.
A
Conference
committee
was
appointed
which
reported
Rowe
and
Engle
lost
money
because
of
their
"non-residence
in
Alderson".
So
the
Reverend
Engle
became
principal
in
1912,
and
in
1915
there
were
86
students
in
A.C.I.,
three-
fourths Methodists. This was less than the 1911-1912 year of 121 enrollment.
In
1917
Miss
Mary
E.
Johnson,
a
local
woman
who
had
been
teaching
in
A.C.I.
for
many
years,
became
principal.
Miss
Johnson
was
a
sister
of
L.
E.
Johnson,
President
of
the
First
National
Bank,
and
Robert
L.
Johnson
of
Greenbrier
Milling
Company.
Miss
Johnson
was
a
woman
of
high
purpose
and
line
experience.
At
some
time
in
the
years
after
1912
the
school
had
added
a
military
department
for
the
boys
in
order
to
inculcate
erect
bodily
carriage and obedience, and to provide a more serviceable suit of greater economy. A.C.I. was the only military school in Alderson’s history.
A.C.I.
during
its
entire
lifetime
was
able
to
employ
some
excellent
teachers,
and
the
quality
of
its
instruction
was
high.
It
constantly
kept
a
goal
of
the
"best
Christian
education".
It
attracted
some
famous
people,
among
them
Dorothy
Gish,
who
was
later
a
popular
actress.
There
was
a
fine
school
spirit
and
the
students
published
a
school
magazine,
The
Sentinel.
At
one
time
there
was
an
Alumni
Association
whose
officers
were
M.
A.
Pyles,
Charles H. Hedrick, Miss Elaine Stulting, and Mrs. Ida Ware Nichols.
The
last
school
term
of
Allegheny
Collegiate
Institute
was
the
1924-1925
term,
after
thirty-six
years
of
existence.
The
school
was
sold
to
L.
W.
Johnson,
J.
W.
Johnson,
James
H.
George,
Miss
Ida
Johnson,
and
Miss
Mary
Johnson,
August
25,
1925.
The
buildings
still
stand
except
the
gymnasium.
One
building
was
used
for
a
time
as
a
small
hospital
by
Drs.
Roy
and
L.
H.
McClung,
and
C.
F.
Mahood.
The
same
building
was
later
remodeled
into
apartments.
The
old
drill
ground
is
a
vacant
lot
except
for
the
home
of
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Fred
Patton,
and
a
flower
garden
belonging
to
the
Misses Pauline and Ellen Langley Johnson.
Probably
the
one
person
who
has
been
Alderson’s
most
widely
known
educator
was
Emma
Cornelia
Alderson,
born
May
15,
1860,
daughter
of
George
Alderson,
Sr.
and
Mary
Jane
Hines
Alderson.
This
remarkable,
red-haired,
distinguished
woman
was
a
devout
Baptist.
She
had
taught
in
the
Allegheny
Collegiate
Institute
in
Alderson.
She
was
a
woman
of
great
capabilities,
and
elderly
people
all
over
this
nation
remember
"Miss
Emma"
with
admiration
and
respect.
She
had
the
idea,
the
drive,
and
education
to
start
Alderson
Academy.
Her
associates
were
the
Reverend
J.
C.
Killian
and
Mrs.
Killian,
the
Baptist
minister
and
his
wife,
and
her
seriously
ill
brother,
Bernard
Alderson,
who
was
the
first
principal.
They
proposed
to
purchase
the
property
across
the
street
from
the
Baptist
Church
for
$7,000.00.
This
had
been
built
for
an
academy
by
Professor
Goode.
Alderson
Academy opened September 18, 1901. (Click on photo for larger view)
Baptists
in
Alderson
and
neighboring
counties
rallied
to
her
cause,
notably
the
Alderson
family.
Fourteen
stockholders,
all
Baptists
in
Alderson,
subscribed,
and
twelve
Baptists
in
other
sections
of
West
Virginia
bought
stock
in
the
non-profit
company.
They
are
names
familiar
to
the
Alderson
locality
and
West
Virginia,
Alderson,
Rowe,
Jones,
Pack,
Reynolds,
Flint,
Killian,
Cavendish,
Wood
,
Blume,
Bigony,
Thurmond
and
Stump.
The
first
teachers other than Miss Emma and her brother Bernie, were Miss Minnie Thombley, Music, and Mr. Killian, Bible.
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
