Asheville School - Blue and White Yearbook (Asheville, NC)

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ASHEVILLE SCHOOL Asheville School was founded in 1900 by Historical Sketch Newton Mitchell Anderson and Charles Andrews Mitchell, who had been founders and co-principals of the University School of Cleveland, Ohio. Their aim was to establish, in the most favorable location they could find, a school that should com- bine the vigorous educational standards of the North with the mountain climate and social atmosphere of the South. The building formerly known as “The House” (now Anderson Hall) was the first to be erected. It was followed in 1903 by “The School” (now Mitchell Hall), and in 1907 by the Senior House (Percy Lawrence Hall). The School prospered from the first, and soon reached an enroll- ment which taxed the capacity of the dormitories. Upon the death of Mr. Mitchell, in 1921, the sole ownership was acquired by Mr. Anderson. In 1924 he assumed the title of Director, and turned over the active management to George Jackson, B.S., as Headmaster. Mr. Jackson had been with the School from the first, and was, by both temperament and training, fitted for his task. Mr. Jackson’s death, in July 1926, brought to a sudden halt the immediate hopes of the Trustees. The Reverend W. H. Jones, the School Chaplain, was named Acting Headmaster, and search was begun for a man who should undertake the administration of Asheville School in consonance with the hopes of its Founders, Trustees, and Alumni. In February 1927, Howard Bement was elected Headmaster. Dr. Bement, who was for twenty-two years a member of the English Depart- ment of The Hill School, and for fifteen years its Head, assumed his duties July 1, 1927. The new administration carried on without a break the traditions of the old Asheville, and incorporated therewith the best that modern progressive education has to older. The enrollment increased to one hundred and seventy, a number that is now being resolutely adhered to as a maximum. On July 1, 1930, an important step forward was taken. The school property was purchased by a group of incorporators representing the Alumni; and a new Board of Trustees, a majority of whom are gradu- 113 1

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THE SCHOOL FROM JACKSON FIELD

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ates of Asheville, was put in control. The Board, made up of twenty-one members, is self-perpetuating, and under the new charter is conducting the School as a non-profit corporation. T To select a location best fulfilling the conditions desired, country east of the Mississippi River and were convinced that the mountain region of western North Carolina, known as “The Land of the Sky,” surpassed all others. They chose, therefore, a site near Asheville, eminently suitable for a school. -I— XTl. 1 X w the founders studied carefully the This region is noted for its climate. Since it has an alti- tude of twenty-three hundred feet above sea-level, its atmosphere is clear and dry, and there are recorded here more sunny days than in any other locality in the eastern part of the United States. The autumn weather is delightful and continues well into the winter, which, though short, is cold and bracing. In winter the air is so dry and the sunshine so constant as to make outdoor life pleasant at all times. From the first of March to the first of July the weather is mild and invigorating, and during this period there are few hot, sultry days. Even in midsummer the nights are cool. Accessibility Asheville is situated half-way between Lake Erie and the Gulf of Mexico, and is reached by the through trains of the Southern Railway from New York via Philadel- phia, Baltimore, and Washington; from Cincinnati; from Atlanta; from New Orleans; and from Jacksonville. It is, therefore, easy of access from all parts of the country; and Pullmans, direct to Asheville, make traveling for even the smaller boys safe and convenient. The site chosen, containing nearly three hundred acres, is five Site . . . . . miles west of Asheville, with which it is connected by a concrete motor road and the Southern Railway. A dam of reinforced concrete, built across Ragsdale Creek, makes a lake nearly a mile in length, used for swimming and boating and all kinds of aquatic sports. The build- ings and playgrounds are situated one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the lake. Much of the land is sufficiently level to make fine fields [ 14]