The Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial Institute, better known as Palmer Memorial Institute, was a school for upper class
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s. It was founded in 1902 by Dr.
Charlotte Hawkins Brown
Charlotte Hawkins Brown (June 11, 1883 – January 11, 1961) was an American author, educator, civil rights activist, and founder of the Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, North Carolina.
Early life
Charlotte Hawkins Brown was born in Hender ...
at
Sedalia, North Carolina
Sedalia is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 623 at the 2010 census.
History
The Dr. Joseph A. McLean House and Palmer Memorial Institute Historic District are listed on the National Register of Histo ...
near
Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
. Palmer Memorial Institute was named after
Alice Freeman Palmer
Alice Freeman Palmer (born Alice Elvira Freeman; February 21, 1855 – December 6, 1902) was an American educator. As Alice Freeman, she was president of Wellesley College from 1881 to 1887, when she left to marry the Harvard professor George H ...
, former president of
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 ...
and benefactor of Dr. Brown.
It became, before its closure in the 1970s, a fully accredited, nationally recognized preparatory school. More than 1,000 African American students attended the school between 1902 and 1970.
Bennett College purchased the Palmer campus, but in 1980 it sold of the main campus with major surviving buildings to the American Muslim Mission. The Muslims, who belong to the community which followed, Imam
Warith Deen Mohammed
Warith Deen Mohammed (born Wallace D. Muhammad; October 30, 1933 – September 9, 2008), also known as W. Deen Mohammed, Imam W. Deen Muhammad and Imam Warith Deen, was an African-American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher, Muslim revi ...
; tried to establish a teacher's college but abandoned this project due to the bad condition of the campus.
In late 1982,
Maria Cole
Maria Cole ( Hawkins; August 1, 1922 – July 10, 2012) was an American jazz singer and the wife of singer Nat King Cole; mother of the singer Natalie Cole.
Early life
Cole was born in Boston and was the niece of Charlotte Hawkins Brown. Her ...
, a niece of Dr. Brown's and widow of late singer
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
, and friend Marie Gibbs of Greensboro began an effort to obtain recognition of Dr. Brown's social and educational contributions, specifically in regard to Palmer Memorial Institute. Both women, who were former students at Palmer Memorial Institute, sponsored meetings of Palmer alumni and enlisted support for this cause. They also met with North Carolina's Division of Archives and History to explore ideas.
Through the assistance of North Carolina Senator Bill Martin, a special bill was passed in the 1983 General Assembly that allowed for planning by Archives and History of the state's first African American state historic site as a memorial to Dr. Brown.
In November 1987, the memorial officially opened as a state historic site.
In 1994, the Historic Sites Section completed exhaustive, comprehensive research on Brown and the Palmer Institute, and restored or stabilized several other structures.
The Palmer Memorial Institute Historic District was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1988.
[ The district encompasses 16 contributing buildings, 2 contributing sites, 3 contributing structures, and 2 contributing objects. They include the Queen Anne style Galen Stone Hall designed by Harry Barton (1876-1937), Charles W. Eliot Hall, and Kimball Hall; Alice Freeman Palmer Building (1922); Congregational Women's Cottage and Carrie M. Stone Cottage designed by ]Charles C. Hartmann
Charles C. Hartmann (1889–1977) was an American architect.
A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The include:
* Alamance Hotel, Maple Ave. and S. Main St. Burlington, NC (Hartmann, Charles)
* Atlan ...
; Rev. John Brice House (c. 1926); Bethany United Church of Christ (1870, c. 1925, c. 1975); and Robert B. Andrew Farm and Store/Post Office.
Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum
The restored campus buildings of the Palmer Memorial Institute are now the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, which belongs to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and links Dr. Brown and Palmer Memorial Institute to the larger themes of African American women, education, and social history, with an emphasis on the contributions made by African American citizens to education in North Carolina.
The museum's visitor center is located in the Carrie M. Stone Teachers' Cottage (1948), and features exhibits about Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown
Charlotte Hawkins Brown (June 11, 1883 – January 11, 1961) was an American author, educator, civil rights activist, and founder of the Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, North Carolina.
Early life
Charlotte Hawkins Brown was born in Hender ...
, the Institute and African American education in North Carolina. There is also a video about the school. Visitors can tour Dr. Brown's residence, known as Canary Cottage, which has been furnished to reflect the 1940s and 1950s, when the school was at its peak. Several dormitories, the dining hall, bell tower, teahouse and several teachers' cottage can also be seen.
See also
* Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson
Wilhelmina Marguerita Crosson (April 26, 1900 – May 28, 1991) was an educator and school administrator known for her innovative teaching methods. One of the first African-American female schoolteachers in Boston, she developed the city's fir ...
, school president from 1952 to 1966
References
External links
Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum
- located at the site of the Palmer Memorial Institute
{{Authority control
African-American history of North Carolina
African-American upper class
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina
Colonial Revival architecture in North Carolina
North Carolina State Historic Sites
Buildings and structures in Guilford County, North Carolina
Protected areas of Guilford County, North Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Guilford County, North Carolina
1902 establishments in North Carolina