The Pine Mountain Settlement School is a historic cultural and educational institution in rural Harlan County,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Founded in 1913 as a settlement school near Bledsoe, it now focuses on classes related to the culture of Appalachia and

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

. It first operated as a boarding grade school for students of the rural region, then in 1930 shifted to operating as a boarding school for high school students. In the later 20th century, it was integrated into the Harlan County Public School System. Its campus is designated as a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, for its role as the first major effort to adapt urban settlement reform work into a rural setting.

Location

Pine Mountain Settlement School is located in a rural mountain setting about northeast of Harlan, the county seat of

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but cont ...

, and southeast of the junction of Kentucky Routes 221 and 510. Pine Mountain is a ridge of the Appalachian Mountains that runs about 125 miles through Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.

History

Founding

Pine Mountain Settlement School was founded during a period of time when more than two hundred schools were founded across Southern Appalachia in order to bring educational opportunities to rural communities across the region. "...Pine Mountain Settlement School was founded in 1913 as a school for children in the commonwealth's remote southeastern mountains and a social center for surrounding communities. The school was the dream of a local man, William Creech Sr., who was troubled by the area's lack of educational opportunities, and the prevalence of social problems and rampant disease. He donated land for the school and recruited two women, Katherine Pettit of Lexington, Kentucky, and Ethel de Long, a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

native, to establish and run the new institution. These two women enlisted the help of architect Mary Rockwell Hook of Kansas City to draw up plans for the campus and its buildings." It has been designated as a

for its importance as a rural example of the urban settlement schools. Pine mountain sign

Uses

Pine Mountain Settlement School developed as a rural example of the urban

settlement movement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

, which established institutions such as

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of the city, Hull House (named after the original house's first owner Cha ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, to provide education and social services to the new populations of immigrants and migrants in the cities. The school has served many purposes since its founding in 1913, more than a century ago. It continues to operate primarily as an educational institution. From 1913 to 1930, Pine Mountain served as a boarding school for children of

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

and

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

age. In 1930, Pine Mountain was adapted as a boarding

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, encouraging

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...

and artistic development for students from the Appalachian region, as well as academics. In 1937, a pack horse library (part of the

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

Travelling Libraries) and community services program was headquartered at Pine Mountain. In 1949, Pine Mountain and the Harlan County educational system began to jointly operate an elementary school as part of the county public school system. In the 1970s, Pine Mountain began to focus its efforts on

. In addition to operating as an educational institution, Pine Mountain Settlement School has served its community in other ways. For example, during Pine Mountain's time as a high school, it sponsored Work Experience Training. This was focused on providing job training to men and helping them find employment. Pine Mountain has also operated as a farm, health clinic, and a hospital. It has supported local music and craft initiatives such a
Fireside Industries
Today, in addition to cultural and environmental education, Pine Mountain Settlement School offers agricultural, culinary, and arts and crafts programming for adults and students.

Relationship with Alpha Sigma Tau

Alpha Sigma Tau

Sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

adopted Pine Mountain Settlement School in 1945 as its national philanthropy. Members of

alumnae Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

and collegiate

chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

and

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

of Alpha Sigma Tau raise money annually for Pine Mountain Settlement School. The Sorority supports Pine Mountain Settlement School through the Alpha Sigma Tau National Foundation, Inc.

References

External links

{{commonscat, Pine Mountain Settlement School
Pine Mountain Settlement SchoolPine Mountain Settlement School Archive
National Historic Landmarks in Kentucky Settlement schools Arts centers in Kentucky Appalachian culture in Kentucky Schools in Harlan County, Kentucky Educational institutions established in 1913 Environmental education in the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky 1913 establishments in Kentucky National Register of Historic Places in Harlan County, Kentucky School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky