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Contact Information:Special CollectionsCarol G. Belk Library and Information Commons Appalachian State University Boone, North Carolina 28608 USA Phone: (828) 262-4041 Fax: (828) 262-2553 Email: spcoll@appstate.edu URL: http://www.library.appstate.edu/appcoll |
| Repository: | Appalachian State University W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection |
| Creator: | Winifred M. Wrisley |
| Title: | Collection 278. Allen High School Collection of Papers, 1942 - 2006, n.d. |
| Language of Material: | Material in English |
| Location: | For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Appalachian State University. |
| Abstract: | The Allen High School was a girls school located in Asheville, North Carolina which served the African-American population from 1887 to 1974. It was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church Woman's Home Missionary Society. The original name was Allen Industrial Training School. |
| The Allen High School Collection of Papers includes photographs, annuals, brochures, letters, correspondence, and other miscellanesou materials relating to the Allen School and Winifred Wrisley's relationship to the school and to the United Methodist Church. | |
| Extent: | 2 linear feet, 4 archival boxes |
An appointment for research is required. No restrictions to access. No Interlibrary Loan.
Standard federal copyright laws apply. Consent forms for four interviewees, Marylou Brown, Shirley Whiteside, William Whiteside, and Barbara Avery-Young, were obtained. Other interviews may not be quoted.
[Identification of item], Collection 278. Allen High School Collection of Papers, W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, NC, USA.
Winifred M. Wrisley donated this collection to the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection on June 19, 2004. Marylou Masser Brown donated oral history and photographic materials to the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection on 17 February 2006. Frieda Morris donated photographs on October 18, 2006. Patricia Beaver transferred additional interview transciptions (Box 2, Folders 7-Box 3, Folder 3) and the Barbara Avery-Young interview cassette to the collection in June 2007. Judy Johnson donated a commemorative plate, two photograph albums, and student papers in August 2008. The accession number is 04-17. The collection was opened to the public on 2006.
Processed by Kathryn Staley, n/a
Encoded by Kathryn Staley, December, 2004
The Allen High School was a Christian boarding school for African-American girls. In 1875, Dr. and Mrs. L.M. Pease of New York established Asheville Industrial School, a free private school for black students in an abandoned livery barn on College Street in Asheville. In 1887, the couple gave the property to the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Alsie B. Dole reopened the school, educating both boys and girls in a grammar school with an industrial department for girls and women. In 1888, a high school curriculum was added. When a new graded public school opened in Asheville in 1892, Allen School adjusted itself to be a boarding school for girls. In 1897, Marriage Allen of London, England donated funds for a dormitory and the school was renamed the Allen Home School. In 1924, Allen High School became a four-year accredited high school and dropped the grammar school programs. In 1940, it joined the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. It was one of two high schools for black students in the 17 counties of western North Carolina to be accredited by the SACSC. Boys continued to attend until 1941 when the name was officially changed to Allen High School. By 1947, the enrollment was 135 boarding and day students. The buildings consisted of 3 buildings with 16 college educated staff.
In Fall 1955, Judith Genier, a white girl from Moriah Center, attended Allen High School to expereince segregated education from the prospective of a black school's student. In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson presented a Presidential Scholar medallian to Andrea Williams, an allen High School graduate. Nina Simone, the famous Jazz singer, was also an Allen High School graduate.
The Allen High School was closed in 1974 because of the lack of funds and a decrease in enrollment due to desegregation. It had graduated 1,177 students. In the mid-1970s, the school site became the Allen Center. By 1978, an Allen High School Alumnae Association formed.
The Allen High School Collection of Papers consist of eight series: Research Project Series, Pre-closing Allen High School Series, Post-closing Allen High School Series, Correspondence Series, Miscellaneous Series, Oral History Transcription Series, Audio-cassettes Series, and Fridea Morris Series. Photographs and audiocassettes are housed separately.
| Allen Industrial Training School |
| Allen High School |
| Asheville (N.C.) |
| United Methodist Church |
| Collection 278D. Allen High School Collection of Papers. Correspondence Series, 1962-1994, n.d. | |||||||||
| 4 | Letters, 1962-1994, n.d. (These letters are written to Winnie Wrisley) | ||||||||
