June Buchanan (June 21, 1887 – May 31, 1988) was an American educator and the co-founder of

Alice Lloyd College Alice Lloyd College is a private work college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky. It was co-founded by the journalist Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd (a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts) and June Buchanan (a native of New York City) in 1923, at first under t ...

Pippa Passes, Kentucky Pippa Passes is a home rule-class city located along Caney Fork in Knott County, eastern Kentucky, United States. Its formal name was chosen to honor benefactors of Alice Lloyd College. Residents commonly call the community "Caney" or "Caney Cree ...

Early life

According to P. David Searles' book, ''A College for Appalachia'', Buchanan was born in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

in 1886 and grew up in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

. The obituary published by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

in June 1988, however, stated that she died at the age of 100, and the

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the Social Security Administration, United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Mas ...

records her date of birth as June 21, 1887. This birthdate is confirmed by her great-niece, Eleanor Gibney of St. John, Virgin Islands. June Buchanan's parents, Frank Buchanan and Julia McCormick Buchanan, hailed from small towns near

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Education

Buchanan graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1913 with a degree in science. After teaching in Groton, New York, she pursued graduate studies at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, with a focus on liberal arts. While at Wellesley, she encountered fellow students who heard of

Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd (November 13, 1876 – September 4, 1962) was an American social reformer who founded Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Kentucky. She worked as a writer, editor, and educator. She supported women's suffrage and was a ...

's efforts to educate children in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

Knott County, Kentucky Knott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,251. Its county seat is Hindman. The county was formed in 1884 and is named for James Proctor Knott, Governor of Kentucky (1883–188 ...

Career

In January 1919, she arrived in Pippa Passes to assist Lloyd's efforts at the Caney Creek Community Center. In 1923, she and Lloyd chartered Caney Junior College, which would be renamed Alice Lloyd College upon Lloyd's death in 1962. In 1976, a campus building, the June Buchanan Alumni Center, was named in her honor. Buchanan later became mayor of Pippa Passes. The college's K-12 prep school, the

June Buchanan School The June Buchanan School (JBS) is a private K-12 prep school located on the campus of Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is named after founder June Buchanan, who, along with social reformer Alice Spencer Geddes ...

, was named in her honor in 1984.

Death and legacy

Buchanan continued to serve the college until her death in May 1988. She died at a hospital in the city of

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

in neighboring Floyd County. In addition to the June Buchanan School and the June Buchanan Alumni Center named in her honor, the June Buchanan Medical Clinic, a community health clinic owned and operated by the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

's Centers for Excellence in Rural Health, is located in Hindman, the county seat of Knott County.

References

External links

Alice Lloyd CollegeJune Buchanan School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, June Syracuse University alumni People from Moravia, New York People from Knott County, Kentucky American centenarians University and college founders Founders of schools in the United States 1887 births 1988 deaths Alice Lloyd College people People from Groton, New York Educators from New York (state) American women educators Women centenarians 20th-century philanthropists People from Floyd County, Kentucky