 The
history of Fayetteville State University began
in1867
when seven black men paid $140 for a lot on Gillespie
Street and formed themselves into a self-perpetuating
board of trustees to maintain the property as a
site for a school. Funds from the U.S. Freedmens
Bureau were used to erect a building on this site.
The institution was named the Howard School, in
honor of General O.O. Howard, director of the bureau.
In
1877, by an act of the North Carolina Legislature, provisions
were made to establish normal schools for educating both
black and white teachers. It
was thought that the $2,000 appropriated for the education
of black teachers could be most effectively used if given
to an established school. At that time the Howard School
had been in existence for ten years and was therefore
designated a teacher-training institution, its name changed
by legislative act to the State Colored Normal School. |
One
early leader of the school was Charles W. Chesnutt who was
chosen to head the institution in 1880. A prominent writer
of fiction and a lawyer, he served as chief administrator
for three years. Dr. Ezekiel Ezra Smith followed him as principal,
beginning a fifty-year association with the school. During
this time Dr. Smith served for a period as US consul-General
in Liberia and Adjutant of the Third North Carolina Volunteer
Infantry during the war with Spain. The school had no permanent
home for 30 years until, under Dr. Smith's guidance, funds
were raised to purchase 50 acres of land on Murchison Road.
When Dr. Smith retired in 1933, the institution had grown
to include 92 acres of land, eight brick buildings, and several
cottages.
The
school has been fortunate in the quality and energy of its
leaders. In 1939 the institution became a four-year college,
and in 1960 it became a member of the Southern Association
of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The dream of seven black
men in 1867 was culminated on July 1, 1972, when Fayetteville
State became part of the University of North Carolina System.
Click
here to visit their web site. |
