1838-N.C. General Assembly establishes public schools
1849-Alamance County formed from Orange Co.
1868-State Constitution establishes school board for each county township
1877-First local school board minutes available from State Archives
1897-Board of Education established for each county
1923-Rural schools in Alamance County consolidate
1920s- Alamance ranks in last quartile on school attendance
1938-N.C. schools add 12th grade
1963-County schools and DOJ enter school desegregation agreement
1969-Racial riots on campus of Williams High School, Burlington
1970-1st black head football coach named to mostly white high school
1996-Burlington City Schools and Alamance County schools merge
2009-Federal gov' t ends oversight; declares local schools racially unitary
The following are mascots of now defunct high schools: Several of these former high schools now function as elementary schools.
Donna Oliver-President of Mississippi Valley State University; 1986 N.C. Teacher of the Year and 1987 National Teacher of the Year
Charlotte Hawkins Brown-founder and president of the Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, NC, now a state historic site
William Thornton Whitsett-founder of the Whitsett Institute, a boys boarding academy that gave rise to the town of Whitsett
Alexander Wilson-early NC educator and Presbyterian Clergyman; an elementary school in Alamance Co. bears his name
N.C. public school records include school board minutes, school censuses, financial records, personnel records, and pupil records. They are found scattered among local boards of education, registers of deeds, clerks of superior court, individual school officials and the N.C. State Archives. Few school censuses with individual pupil names survive. Generally records from the 19th century have been transferred to the State Archives.
Items of note in the local history collection at May Memorial Library include:
Burlington City Graded Schools brochure 1908-1909-includes some pictures of teachers and facilities (click here)
Morton Township School Board Minutes (circa 1897)-includes teacher boundary description, teacher contracts, and a list of black students in the district
County School insurance documents from N.C. Farmers Mutual Insurance Association (from 1905)-includes lists of rural county schools in the 1930s
Click here for a list of high school yearbooks available in the Local History Collection at May Memorial Library
Click here for a list of college and university yearbooks available in the Local History Collection at May Memorial Library
Many local yearbooks prior to 1975 may be viewed online at the N.C. Digital Heritage Center website at https://www.digitalnc.org/collections/yearbooks/
Philanthropist Julius Rosenwald once helped to fund several schools for black children in Alamance County during the 1920s. Some of these Rosenwald schools included Arches Grove, Byrd School in Pleasant Grove, Jordan Sellers Elementary, Rock Creek School, Unity School and the Alamance County Training School. Booker T. Washington convinced Mr. Rosenwald to donate to black schools in the south and Burlington's Rosenwald Street is named for this Sears, Roebuck executive. More information on county Rosenwald Schools may be found at the State Office of Historic Preservation by clicking here
McCray School (pictured) added to the National Register in 1986
Cooper School-circa 1900 one-room school for black students in the Mebane vicinity; one of two such schools remaining in Alamance County
McCray School-circa 1915 one-room school for black students located on Hwy 62 in northern Alamance County
Woodlawn School-circa 1911 school for white students located on Mebane-Rogers Rd. Last used as a school in 1935.
From the back of the Postcard:
The architectural drawing shows Burlington's new Walter M. Williams High School designed to accommodate 1,500 students. The school has an auditorium that will seat 2,500 people. The gymnasium is not included in present plans, but is planned for construction as soon as possible before or after classrooms and auditorium are completed. The new school, named in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Williams of Burlington, will be among the most modern and best equipped to be found in the east.
Local Schools: Exploring Their History by Report to the People: Burlington City Schools 1936-1963 Call Number: R 371.009 REP
Elon College: It's History and Traditions -Dr. Durward T. Stokes Call Number 378.75658 STO
Black Coach - Pat Jordan Call Number R 370.19342 JOR
