Nichols High School - Log Yearbook (Oxford, NC)

Page 13 text:

i i So with fervent heart we cry, God bless the friend who I stands by, and to this friend, in recognition of his loyal devotion I to our Home and his untiring interest in our progress and wel- I fare, we are grateful. j The nature of his duties has touched the life of each student, i I and his efficiency, good judgment, fairness, and helpfulness have j won for him the highest respect, admiration, and deep apprecia- I tion of every one on the campus. j Thus, in loving homage, we, the Class of ' 47, affectionately i [ dedicate the eleventh volume of The Log, to i 1 Dedication So brief a time ive have to stay Along this dear, familiar umy; It seems to me ive should be kind To those ivhose lives touch yours and mine. I Mr. Maurice E. Parham i Treasurer-Business Manager of the Oxford Orphanage I I ' ■Hi ' i I % i

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Seventy-fifth Anniversary Of The Oxford Orphanage • In commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Oxford Orphanage, it might be of interest to the many readers to refer to the establishment of St. John ' s College. As early as the year 1838 the Grand Lodge of Masons of North Carolina -was con- sidering the establishment of a Masonic Seminary . The year 1850 found the Grand Lodge in position to take definite action as to the location of the school. After delibera- tion, Oxford, N. C. was chosen. A committee, consisting of John Gray Bynum, John A. Lilli ' ngton, and P. H. Winston, was appointed to prepare and publish an address ex- plaining the course of instruction and system of education proposed. The committee urged that something of astronomy, natural philosophy, chemistry, geology, electricity, and galvanism should be taught, but that a larger emphasis should be placed upon architecture, the power of steam and its application to machinery, var- ious processes of manufactures, metallurgy, natural history, and engineering. At a time when there were only sixty-five lodges in the state, an agent was ap- pointed to solicit funds for the establishment of the college. St John ' s College was decided as the name for the new institution. In 1853 E. H. Hicks deeded to the Trustees of St. John ' s College a tract of land containing 109 acres near the corporate limits of the town of Oxford, the purchase price being $4,480. In 1855 the Trustees awarded to John Berry, of Orange County, the contract for the brick work on the building at $11,106, and to J. N. Holt, of Warren County, the contract for the wood-work at $11,394, at total cost of $22,500. On June 24, 1855, the anniversary of the birth of Saint John the Baptist, the corner stone of the structure was laid with appropriate ceremonies by the Grand Lodge. Report was made by the Trustees of the College to the Grand Lodge in December 1857, that the building had been completed at a cost of $23,000 and that $13,000 of this amount was still unpaid. The doors of the College were opened July 13, 1858, with Prof. Ashbel G. Brown, a distinguished educa tor, in charge, and Mr. James Campbell, assistant. The institution was for male students only. An arrangement was made with Professor Brown which promised mutual advantage. The management of the institution was changed several times without result and the troubles of the college never came to an end. In 1860 it was suggested that St. John ' s College at this time be made a military school, and again, as the war broke out, this was renewed with an effort to offer it to the State for this purpose, but such was never done, and St. John ' s College went the way of the rest; suspended its operations as the war came on. At the close of the war, Mr. John H. Mills, who was conducting a female school in Oxford, made arrangements to move into the building and had contemplated purchasing the same. He abandoned the idea, and in 1868 the property was sold under a mortgage held by Capt. John Berry and was bought by the Grand Lodge of Masons for the sum of $7,000. An effort was made at the close of the school in 1871 to arrange for re-open- ing or to lease the property. These failed and a caretaker moved into the building un- til further disposition could be made. Thus the story of St. John ' s College closed in a record of failure, but not until the Masons of the State had placed themselves in the ranks of the pioneers of education in North Carolina. Page Eleven