Chowan College - Chowanoka Yearbook (Murfreesboro, NC)

Page 10 text:

Introduction Oil October 11, 1848, Chowan Baptist Female Institute opened its doors. As the name Chowan indicates, the institution is located in the northeast section of North Carolina, a portion of which was once occupied by the Chowan Indians. The name of this tribe was given to a county, a river, an association of Baptist, and through this association, to an institution. The first recorded discussion concerning the establishment of Chowan Female Institute took place in April of 1848; yet less than six months later the institute opened its doors with a com- plete faculty, with ade(|uate buildings and equipment, and with a creditable enrollment which grew through the school year to nearly fifty students. The dream of a college lor girls located in the bounds of the Chowan Association was einisioned Irom time to time, but it began to take definite form during an informal conversalion after supper in the home of a Baptist deacon. Dr. Godwin Collnn Moore. On Friday morning. May VK the Association took up an important item: The establishment by the Chowan Association of an institution of higher learning for girls. A full Board of Trustees was elected and instructed to obtain a charter from the next State Legislature. The Board ol Trustees was authorized to purchase provisions and adopt all the arrangements necessar to carry out the plans for the Institute. The name which the Chowan Association decided upon for the School was the ChowaTi Female Institute . The lream of Godwin CottoTi Moore was realized. As a result, a new day dawned for hundreds of girls in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, who had picxioU ' U been forgotten in the matter of higher education. The College was located in the old Hertlord Academx building on Broad Street. Within three vears McDowell Columns wa constructed, and in 18.51, the college mo ed tlieie. The building serves today as the administration hea(l(|uarlers. For sixty-two (62 1 years the instilulion wa known a the Cho- wan Baptist Female Institute: in I ' ' 10 ils name ua changed lo Chowan College. Until l ' . ' 57 il wa .i cnior college, bul it v;l changed thai vear lo a imiioi (dllei;e.

Page 12 text:

Chowan College reniaiiied open dining the ( i il War. cilllinuuli a number of Southern Colleges closed. B ihc lall i |iail il llic 19th century Chowan was recognized througlioiit ihe soulli Im its high standards in scholarship and culture. The Twenlielii century brought continued progress to ihe inliege ii a of add- itional buildings and ei|uipnienl and ihe iiuiinlairniig of tradi- tional high standards. Howe er, due to the shortage ot students during World War II, the College closed its doors in ] ' ) ' i. Since its reopening in 10] ' ), ih, ' college has experienced an unusual growth both in cnr(illrn -iil and physical facilities. Il is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The first coniinenceiiient was held on ihe present sile in 18.51. The campus then consists of 50 acres. Chowan is old in tradition. Since 1880, the bell with its bell tower has been an integral part of life. If it could talk as well as ring, it might peel forth the legend of the Brown lady who haunts the campus on Halloween night: the story of the voung confederate officer hidden in ihe watch tower and of the young ladies spreading their hoop skirts on the steps to pre ent ihc Yankees from finding the hidden confederate; the story of the rumored insurrection, a phase of the Nat Turner rebellion, ihe the shooting and burial of one of the rebellionists on the campus while the girls were gathered in one room for prayer; of all-day steamboat rides and picnics on the Meherrin River; of all-day commencements, with visitors arriving by boat and being guest of the Spencer House of the Boyette Hotel: of its famous pres- idents and educators as William Hooper, Archibald McDowell: of its first famous literary society organized in 1857; of the entrance, graduation, and return of its illustrious allumni; of its famous Crow ' s Nest , for seniors only; and of all the numerous heartaches and joys that have been purred forth anioung its shaded walks and drives.