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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: | Various |
| Title: | Collection 278. Allen High School Collection of Papers, 1927 - 2006, undated |
| Language of Material: | Material in English |
| Location: | For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Appalachian State University. Photographs and audio-visual materials are housed separately. Photographs are stored within a temperature controlled chamber and require additional time to acclimate to room temperature. |
| Abstract: | The Allen High School Collection of Papers consists of photographs, annuals, brochures, letters, correspondence, and other miscellaneous materials from Allen High School, a historic Methodist residential African-American girls boarding school located in Asheville, North Carolina. |
| Founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church Woman's Home Missionary Society, Allen High School served the African-American population of western North Carolina from 1887 to 1974. It offered an accredited college preparatory curriculum and educated students throughout the nation. | |
| Extent: | 2.75 linear feet, 5 archival boxes |
An appointment for research is required. No restrictions to access. No Interlibrary Loan. The following audio-cassettes are restricted until 2054: Ann Miller Woodord (5 November 2004) and Winifred Wrisley (11 May 2004). Use of audiovisual materials may require the creation of a user copy, if none exists. Photographs are stored within a temperature controlled chamber and require additional time to acclimate to room temperature.
Standard federal copyright laws apply. Interviews without consent forms are noted below in 278G. Oral History Transcription Series.
[Identification of item], Collection 278. Allen High School Collection of Papers, W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, NC, USA.
Gift from various donors, 2004, 2006, 2008. The accession number is 04-17. The collection was opened to the public in 2006.
Processed by Kathryn Staley, 2006, 2009
Encoded by Kathryn Staley, December, 2004
Allen High School was a Christian boarding school for African-American girls based in southwestern North Carolina. Founded in 1887, it was named the Allen Home School in 1897 after Mrs. Marriage Allen of London, England donated funds for a dormitory. The school was subsequently renamed Allen High School. Its student population was primarily female adolescents; however, it was originally a co-educational elementary school for adults and children.
Upon retirement to southwestern North Carolina, Dr. and Mrs. L.M. Pease of New York established Asheville Home and Industrial School for underprivileged mountain girls in 1875. Unable to continue their plans, in 1887, the couple gave some of their other property to the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to establish an elementary school for African-Americans. The school maintained its connection to the Methodist church and in 1941, was under the supervision of the Women's Division of Christian Service of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Teachers were employees of the Women's Division and many were hired as US2s, which were U.S. missionaries with a two year contract. Later it was under the direction of the Women's Division of the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church.
The first superintendent was Alsie B. Dole, who reopened the school, educating both boys and girls in a grammar school with an industrial department for girls and women. Initially, children attended during the day and adults attended at night. Dole helped found Berry Temple Church which met in the school's chapel until its own building was built. In 1888, a high school curriculum was added. When a new graded public school opened in Asheville in 1892, the school was revisioned to act as a boarding school for girls. In 1924, Allen Home High School became a four-year North Carolina accredited high school and ceased 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.
Allen High endeavored to a high academic standard. By the 1960s, Allen High School sent over 50% of its graduates to college, some to Wellesley and Vassar. Its curriculum included Religion, Spanish, Latin, French, Typing, Shorthand, Home Economics, Choir, and Piano. Allen provided many extracurricular activities, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Arts and Crafts Club, Journalism Club, basketball, and choir. The high school had a good reputation for its choir, which regularly toured throughout the East Coast, but primarily western North Carolina's Protestant churches. The traveling choir consisted of nine to twelve girls. The choir director was Winifred Wrisley, who began teaching choir and piano at Allen in 1953.
Some students received statewide and national recognition. 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. Her presence led to a cross burning on the school grounds. 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, and Yvonne Mims Evans, 26th District Court judge, also graduated from Allen High School.
A third of the students originated from Asheville. Another third derived from communities in western North Carolina, many of which did not have high schools for African Americans. The remaining third came from communities across the nation and even other countries.
Allen High School closed in 1974 because of a decrease in enrollment due to desegregation and the lack of funds. In all, 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. This organization also used the name variation of Allen (Home) High School Alumni Association. The association regularly meets and produces new materials such as programs and alumnae lists.
| Superintendents | |
| 1887-1920 | Alsie B. Dole |
| 1920-1921 | Edith Mitchell |
| 1921-1937 | Louisa A. Bell |
| 1937-1938 | Clara Sykes |
| 1938-1941 | Carmen Lowry |
| 1941-1945 | Julia Titus |
| 1945-1957 | Claire Lennon |
| 1957-1974 | Ruth Walther |
| Principals | |
| 1887-1920 | Alsie B. Dole |
| 1920-1921 | Edith Mitchell |
| 1921-1924 | Louisa A. Bell |
| 1924-1930 | Veda Stryker |
| 1930-1938 | Carmen Lowry |
| 1938-1967 | Julia Titus |
| 1967-1974 | Ruth Walther |
The Allen High School Collection of Papers cover the social and educational experiences of Allen High School and its alumni since the 1920s. Its emphasis is the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 1960s because the oral history interviewees and donors primarily had school ties during these decades. It provides the perspective of the principal, teachers, former students, and parents.
Materials derive from multiple sources. School-generated materials include brochures, yearbooks, music programs, and school newspapers, primarily from the 1950s and 1960s although a few also come from 1930-1931. Newspaper and magazine articles dating from the 1930s to 2005 provide primary sources and historical overviews about Allen. Oral histories conducted in 2004-2006 by the Center for Appalachian Studies staff showcase the memories of Allen High School educators, parents, and alumnae. Former teachers have also donated their personal photographs of Allen High School. The Historical Marker Application, although failed, provides additional information about the school's historical importance.
These materials showcase the importance of Allen High School to the intellectual and spiritual development of segregation era African-American girls in western North Carolina and the nation. The school held a reputation as a quality school that sent its students to college. It also illustrates the less common and unrecognized multi-racial aspect of the Appalachian mission movement. Furthermore, it shows the affects of desegregation on institutions that solely served the African-American population.
The Allen High School Collection of Papers originate from many sources and lack an original overarching organization. The archivist organized the materials into eight series: Historical Marker Application Series, Pre-closing Allen High School Series, Post-closing Allen High School Series, Correspondence Series, Miscellaneous Series, Oral History Transcription Series, Audio-Visual Series, and Photograph Series. Additions have been integrated to the collection. Photographs and audiocassettes are housed separately.
This collection does not consist of institutional records, such as administrative files. Academic records for each graduate are housed in Brooks-Howell Home, a Methodist retirement home for retired missionaries and deaconesses in Asheville, North Carolina, where many former teachers live. Other records from the Allen High School have not survived.
| African American schools |
| Allen High School |
| Allen Industrial Training School |
| Asheville (N.C.) |
| United Methodist Church |
| Collection 278B. Allen High School Collection of Papers. Pre-closing Allen High School Series, 1927-1974, undated | |||||||||
| This series consists of materials created during the years in which Allen High School operated. They include promotional information and internal publications such as music programs, the school newspaper and the yearbooks as well as articles produced about Allen High School. The school newspapers were one to four pages in length and included school events, student activities, and poetry. In 1930, the students also produced Al Hi Fight, which served in part as a senior memory book. It lists awards and degrees earned by contemporary and former students. There are also print-outs of digital files from a compact disc found in the Audio-Visual Series. These were donated by Marylou Musser Brown and contain images from yearbooks and photographs. | |||||||||
| Three student papers from 1930 are included. Known authors include Ruth Doggett and Bertha Miller. | |||||||||
| The Berry Methodist Church and Allen High School Commemorative Plate is a 10" white plate with brown print images of Berry Methodist Church and Allen High School's Muriel Day Residence Hall. The reverse side contains a paragraph-long overview of the intertwined history of the church and school. It has a gold-plated edge and was produced by World Wide Art Studios of Covington, Tennessee circa 1953. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Allen High School Promotional Information | |||||||
| Allen High School Handbook, 1955 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 3 | 4 | Allen High School Booklet, 1930-1931 | |||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Allen High School Booklet, 1958-1959 | |||||||
| Allen High School Booklet, 1965-1966 [2 copies] | |||||||||
| Allen High School Booklet, 1966-1967 | |||||||||
| Allen High School Brochure, 1967 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | The Allen School Herald newspaper (November 23, 1955; October 30, 1956; March 30, 1956; May 18, 1956; December 18, 1956) | |||||||
| 2 | Music Programs | ||||||||
| 1956-1963 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 1 | 3 | 1963-1966 | |||||||
| 4 | 1966-1967 | ||||||||
| 5 | Special Events Programs, 1956-1966, undated | ||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 3 | 7 | Magazine Articles, 1970-1974 | |||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Newspaper Articles, 1947-1974, undated | |||||||
| 8 | Yearbooks | ||||||||
| 1953 Allenite | |||||||||
| 1954 Allenite (photocopy) | |||||||||
| 1954 Allenite | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 1 | 9 | 1962 Allenite | |||||||
| 9 | 1968 Allenite | ||||||||
| 10 | Print outs of digital files from Marylou Musser Brown | ||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 3 | 6 | Commencement Program, 1930 | |||||||
| 6 | Al Hi Flight newspaper, 1930 | ||||||||
| 6 | Teacher contract for Ruth Johnson, 1930 | ||||||||
| 6 | Student Papers, 1930, undated | ||||||||
| Box | |||||||||
| 5 | Berry Methodist Church and Allen High School Commemorative Plate, possibly 1953. | ||||||||
| Collection 278F. Allen High School Collection of Papers. Oral History Transcriptions Series, 2004-2006 | |||||||||
| The Oral History Transcriptions Series consists of interview transcripts of Allen High School alumnae and former teachers. Interviews were conducted by Center for Appalachian Studies director Patricia Beaver and Appalachian Studies graduate students. Most interviewees discuss their education and career at Allen High School. Of particular interest, informants mention the 1956 KKK cross-burning on Allen High School property after a white student began attending, school rules, dating practices, students, favorite teachers, the choir's activities, coursework, segregation, and desegregation. Some, such as Stacey Coleman, Regina Muckelvene Knight, and Purel Miller, also discuss their family and community history at length. Audios for most transcripts are available in 278G. Audio-Visual Series. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Deeds of Gifts, 2004-2006. | |||||||
| List of Interview Questions. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Transcriptions. | |||||||
| Barbara Avery-Young, 30 August 2006 | |||||||||
| Barbara Avery-Young, who was raised in Burnsville, North Carolina, commuted daily to Allen High School in 1954 at age 13. She subsequently attended Stephens-Lee High School, Asheville's African-American high school. | |||||||||
| Dolores Carnegie, 19 June 2004 | |||||||||
| Dolores Carnegie attended Allen High School and Berry Temple United Methodist Church. Her mother and maternal aunts also attended Allen. | |||||||||
| Sandra Hayslette, 20 July 2005 | |||||||||
| As a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill doctoral student, Sandra Hayslette studied Appalachian schools and home missions. Her dissertation was "Not at the Top, but Climbing: Teaching and Learning about Appalachia and Identity at Berea College, 1920-1940." | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Virginia Hicks-Daniels, 10 May 2004 | |||||||
| Daniels' daughter Carolyn Elaine Burchett, who died at age 22, attended Allen High School. Daniels herself was a native of Asheville and attended Berry Temple Methodist Church. For college, she attended Bennett College and Winston-Salem Teacher's College. | |||||||||
| Janice Inabinett, 8 April 2005 | |||||||||
| Janice Inabinett, a professional storyteller who was raised in Bryson City, North Carolina, attended Allen High School in 12th grade and graduated in 1958. This interview was not recorded. | |||||||||
| Janice Inabinett and Stacey Coleman, 16 August 2005 | |||||||||
| Stacey Coleman, a Bryson City, North Carolina native, attended Spelman Seminary of Atlanta, Georgia, now named Spelman College. She is the spouse of Inabinett's maternal uncle. Several of her daughters attended Allen High School. She was 101 years old at the time of the interview. This interview was not recorded. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 2 | 9 | Jacqueline King, 19 June 2004 | |||||||
| Jacqueline King taught at Allen High School from 1959 to 1963. | |||||||||
| Regina Muckelvene Knight, 19 June 2004 | |||||||||
| Regina Muckelvene Knight attended Allen High School as a day student and graduated in 1956. Afterwards, she attended Freedmen's Hospital, now called Howard University. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 2 | 10 | Purel Miller, 5 November 2004 | |||||||
| Purel Miller, of Andrews, North Carolina, is the father of three Allen High School graduates, Nina, Mary Alice, and Ann Miller Woodford. No release form. | |||||||||
| Frieda Morris, 10 May 2004 | |||||||||
| Frieda Morris grew up in western New York and taught math at Allen High School from 1942 to 1944. She continued to work as a Methodist missionary after leaving Allen. She retired to the Brooks-Howell Home. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 2 | 11 | Mildred Morris, 19 June 2004 | |||||||
| Mildred Morris's daughter Dorothy attended Allen High School and graduated circa 1958. Dorothy died in her 40s. They were from Hayesville, North Carolina. Morris herself attended Stephens-Lee High School of Asheville, North Carolina. | |||||||||
| Bettie Sue Smith, 10 May 2004 | |||||||||
| Bettie Sue Smith was sent to Allen High School as a Methodist missionary in 1957 and taught English and social studies for fourteen years. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 2 | 12 | Ruth Walther, 10 May 2004 | |||||||
| Walther was raised in Wisconsin and began teaching math at Allen High School in 1948. She served as Allen's superintendent from 1957 to 1974 and principal from 1967 to 1974. She retired to the Brooks-Howell Home. | |||||||||
| Ann Miller Woodford, 5 November 2004 | |||||||||
| Ann Miller Woodford, who was raised in Andrews, North Carolina, attended Allen High School from 1961 to 1965. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Ann Miller Woodford, 5 November 2004 | |||||||
| Winifred "Winnie" Wrisley, 10 May 2004 | |||||||||
| Winifred Wrisley was from Vermont and began teaching choir and piano at Allen High School in 1953. She left Allen shortly before it closed in 1974. She retired to the Brooks-Howell Home. | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||
| 3 | 2 | Winifred "Winnie" Wrisley, 11 May 2004 | |||||||
| 3 | Winifred "Winnie" Wrisley, 19 June 2004 | ||||||||
Academic records for each graduate are housed in Brooks-Howell Home, a Methodist retirement home for retired missionaries and deaconesses in Asheville, North Carolina.
Other records from the Allen High School have not survived.
