Nichols High School - Log Yearbook (Oxford, NC)

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LANDMARK UF A CENTURY -gl- The Main Building on the Oxford Orphanage campus was really the beginning of the Oxford Orphanage, however, in the beginning it was known as St. John's College. As early as the year 1838 the Grand Lodge of Masons of North Cairo- lina was considering 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 deliberation, Oxford, N. C. was chosen. A com- mittee, consisting of John Gray Bynum, John A. Lilllington, and P. H. Winston, was appointed to prepare and publish an address explaining the course of instruction and system of education proposed. The committee urged that something of astromony, natural philosophy, chemistry, geology, electricity, galvanism should be taught, but that a larg- er emphasis should be placed upon architecture, the power of steam, and its application to machinery, various processes of manufactures, metallur- gy, natural history, and engineering. At a time when there were only sixty-five lodges in the state, an agefnt was appointed to solicit funds for the establishment of the college. St. J ohn'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 limits of the town of Oxford, the purchase price being 84,480 In 1855 the Trustees awarded to John Berry, of Orange County, the contract for the brick work on the building at a total cost of S11,106, and to J. N. Holt, of Warren County, the contract for the wood-work at S11,394, at a total cost of 822,500 On June 24, 1855, the anniversary of the birth of St. John the Baptist, the cornerstone 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 323,000 and that 313,000 of this amount was still unpaid. The doors of the College were opened July 13, 1858, with Prof. Ashbel G. Brown, a distinguished educator, 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 man- agement 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. J ohn's College at this time be made a military school, and again, as Page Eleven ' ' gum ' 5ef:f?1 li, ' A f5?5f'.e: . 354, r-Q.. ' Q , ' ,- . C1-.Y , X ,Y .. , Q ' 4 ' - : -1'?t. J, I ngg fl 9 5 'V .f 's ' - r . 4a2fi1Zi?i:- it 5 1 -4-. ffl

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ONE HUNDRED YEARS IN THE LIFE OF NORTH CAROLINA

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the war broke out, this was renewed with an effort to offer it to the States 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 fel- male 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 undera mortgage held by Capt. John Berry and was bought by the Grand Lodge of Masons for the sum of 37,000 An ef- fort was made at the close of the school in 1871 to arrange for re-opening or to lease the property. These failed and a caretaker moved into the build- ing until 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. In 1872 there was a tie in the casting of votes to sell the building and Grand Master John Nichols gave the deciding vote against the sale. Thei question, What shall we do with it? , then arose but remained undecided. Mr. John H. Mills, who may be called, the Father of the Orphanage, in- troduced a resolution to convert St. John's College, now called the Main Building, into an orphanage, and in ten minutes the resolution was carried by a unanimous vote and Mr. Mills was placed in charge of the Work. He soon received the most earnest support of the Whole Masonic Fraternity and the Work was so successfully done that the State, contrary to all prece- dents, appropriated 2B5,000 per year to the orphanage as no difference was made between Masonic and non-Masonic orphans. During the first year of the orphanage's existence, eighty-four children were admitted. In the eleven years while Mr. Mills was Superintendent, he built a home for the children but there were many days Wihen the bot- tom of the flour barrel had to be scraped and many times the last stick of wood was put into the little stove to keep the children as comfortable as possible While the cold wind whistled around the building. Would it be possible to find another building similar in size to this Main Building that has served such a useful purpose? There are four stories and each has made a very definite contribution to the life of the orphanage. There was a time when the superintendent lived in a part of the build- ing, for there was no other provision for living quarters, there Was also a, time when a large number of smaller children lived in this building, for there was no other cottage for them. At the present time many of the teach- ers of the John Nichols School reside in this building, as Well as several other lady members of the staff. After the erection of the John Nichols School building, which was first used in 1925, the second and third floors of the Main Building were remodeled, thus, rooms were arranged for mem-- bers of the staff. Page Twelve 0 P TT 23?-1fx.ff.g-2-1?-'1Ei?2?fF-Sli5? .1 ' --i'-f f.:fi::f'i:i'jE4?'iii' '-' - 2 -4Q22'5'-f3:f're?E14T,:'.:.'-E55I ' 3 ,U ... .-- A.-A -- - --'-ev-2+-V' . : Df'-cf 3f:::::,y ,Y W, mi, . , - ,- ,. , i 8 9 9 .... 'F TWQT 'Z'-Qf'??Zj7 545-127 j'?'E'fl,5':L' ,.Q.,. P M ,M ,ff H .,.v ,eqq . ,V - Lf- Q., mi-, 4-:efz, A T,