Queens University of Charlotte - Coronet / Edelweiss Yearbook (Charlotte, NC)

Page 13 text:

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Page 15 text:

ijistflrg of % GInUrjg? ' jjfT is very difficult fo r the average American to think of anything Jj belonging to his country as old. This is due to comparison with what the old world looks upon as ancient. The country itself being looked upon as new all of her institutions are viewed in this light by those who have been born in lands where institutions were hoary with age before this great country was dis¬ covered. While America and her institution now stand in the fore¬ front, this is due to her ability to appropriate all the best in the old civilizations. There is still, however, something of trustfulness engendered by that which has stood the test of time. It is not generally known by the pupils now attending the Presbyterian Col¬ lege for Women that this is a very old institution as compared with most colleges in America, hence I propose to give a brief account of its origin and formation. When it was proposed by the British Crown to found The Queen’s College and locate it in the colony of North Carolina, in St. Martin’s Parish, in the town of Charlotte, objection was made on the ground that the people of this section had manifested a spirit of hostility to the interest of the Crown and of the established Church, and instead of a college being founded, which in all likeli¬ hood would have expanded into The University after the model of the old world, the Queen’s Museum was founded instead and located on what has, for many years been known as “The Brevard Davidson Place,” now the site of the new Mecklenburg County Courthouse. These movements were all prior to the Revolution. After the Independence of America had been declared what¬ ever effort was made by way of meeting the wants of the com¬ munity, proposed in the Queen’s College, formed the beginning of the history of the college of today. It is probably true that the life of this institution extends back considerably over a hundred years, and if so, then it will be reckoned among the very oldest educational institutions in America. In 1821 the Charlotte Male and Female Academy is spoken of as an institution already in existence, and in need of a new building. 15