The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-06-23
A GREAT SCHOOL
CLOSES ITS DOORS
Greens boro Female College
Failed to Pay Expenses.
PROPERTY WORTH St25, 600
Trustee R. T. Gray Says it is Great 0ppor'
tunity for Raleigh to Have Here the
Leading Methodist School of
the State.

~ Sk0Ns
A great Methodist school, the Greens
boro Female College, has closed its doors.
1t has been abandoned as a school for
the present and the only hopes of the
trustees is that some institution or parties
will take hold of the property aud main
tain it as a college.
Mr.. r. T. Gray, of Raleigh, who IS in
tcrested in the college. has returned from
Greensboro where he attended a meet
ing of the stockholders. He was
interviewed yesterday concerning the close
OF the college, the cause and the prospects
fol the future.
Yes" said Mr.. Gray, 1.-The Greensboro
Female College has been closed. It was a
step taken with the greatest reluctance
and regret, but for a few years the in
Gene has not met the expenses and the
trustees were forced to take the step they
did.''
The matter has been under advise
ment for some time but it was not until
this week that we came to the conclu-
sion to close the doors. At one time it
was hoped that Trinity College would
take hold of it and maintain it as a Fe-
| male department ii 1Ilully :. lit property
was offered at a sacrifice, but the Trinity
officials did not accept the proposition"
"The meeting was fully attended and
all but five shares of stock were repre-
scnted. Of the trustees there were pres
ent DR.. bred Peacock, c. H. Ireland, j.
A. Odell, Prof. o. w. Carr. of Greensboro;
j. NJ. and ". R. Odell, of Concord, and
myself. We went over the affairs of the
college, hoping that some arrangement
might be made to continue 1T, but this
had to be abandoned, and unless some
one takes hold of it the college Will not
reopen
1T IS a great opportunity for Raj
eigh,'' continued Mr.. Gray, "as | see it.
The city Is an educational centre, and
splendid female colleges for the Baptists,
Presbyterians and Episcopalians are sue
ceeding here. It is the place for a great
State Methodist College and if one of the
other Methodist Female Colleges in the
! State could be removed here / feel sure
it would be a great success. If this is
done it must be by the efforts Of the peo-
pie Of Raleigh. It would be a better In
lvestment for the people Of the city than
/ two great cotton factories"
"The college failed for lack of financial
support. 1t was we'll managed and the
grade of the school was high. It has
had a long and honorable career and
among its graduates are to be found
some of the best women in the State. 1t
was chartered in 1888, opened for stu
dents in 1916, burned in 1863, re-opened in
1878 and sold to the present owners in
1881 when the Methodist conference found
it could no longer maintain it. The Meth
Cdlst laymen who bought the property
then assumed all its debts. Since then we
have done the best VIC could, but without
endowment we have not succeeded, nor
has the college received the support from
the Methodists Of the State that it
should"
'"The magnificent school property, with
its buildings and thirty or more acres Of
land splendidly situated IN Greensboro il
worth 1925, 900, the builulng l,self having
cost $4,000. Since 1881 the trustees have
expended on it about SAC, 600 III improve
ments. There are electric lights
and a s~team-heating plant there
costing ten to fifteen thousand dollars. 1t
is a classic spot and | should regret to
see 1T divided up, but 1t may be that this
will have to be done and that it will
go as residence property or some corpora
tions may use it for industrial purposes"
The college has a dormitory capacity
of 80 and the past year there were 80
boarding pupils. We have had as high
as $50, but that was years ago. The
competition of other colleges, the fact that
there were three fine Methodist schools III
the State, those at Littleton, at Louis
burg and at Lenolr, and a number over
the line IN Virginia, has scattered the
Methodist strength, some of which went
to colleges of other denominations.
1.-The college has had the best talent.
There was DR.. T. NJ. Jones, who, after it
was destroyed by fire, went to Louisburg,
Kittrell and Warrenton and came back
when the college was rebuilt. DR.. B. f.
Dixon, DR.. Frank Reid, DR.. bred Pea
cock and Miss Lucy Robinson, all with
able faculties. When it passed into the
hands of private stockholders they did not
expect to make money out OF It. but the
income has not paid the running expenses
and the stockholders have had to pay
yearly a deficit from their own pockets.
There was no aid given it by the Method
ist conferences The Odells, of Concord
and Greensboro, and DR.. bred Peacock,
Mr.. ireland and Prof. Carr, Of Greens
boro, deserve the highest credit for the
unselfsh sacrifices t-y have made. Pro
vision was made for the aymen on the
! day following the meeting of every bill
owed by the college to the butcher. the
grocer, the baker and candiesticF maker.
1T was a sad meeting when we finally
concluded to abandon the college. Our
!, hopes for if had been high, but these
had come to naught. ] lett Greensboro
before the action of the trustees was
! given out and / do not know of the
feeling of the people there. Unless others
take up the burden we have carried the
! college is definitely closed"