William Henry Holtzclaw (1870–1943) was an educator and the founder of Utica Institute in Mississippi. Holtzclaw was a graduate of the Tuskegee Institute and desired to start his own school.
He settled in
Utica, Mississippi
Utica is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 820 at the 2010 census, down from 966 at the 2000 census. Utica is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Utica was originally an area known as ...
, bought land on credit, and persuaded the locals to appoint him teacher of what was then called the Utica Negro School in 1902.
Holtzclaw and his students built the first and second school buildings themselves.
By 1903 the school had 225 pupils and was supported by white and black members of the community.
The school became incorporated by the state of Mississippi as the Utica Normal and Industrial Institute for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women and taught both academic subjects and also vocational work.
Holtzclaw became principal of the school and worked on attracting funds, and received donations from
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
.
Holtzclaw was also a writer. He published two newspapers, the monthly ''Utica News'' and a school newspaper, ''Southern Notes''.
He published his autobiography, ''The Black Man’s Burden'', in 1915.
The school became Utica Institute Junior College, then the Utica campus of Hinds Community College.
The school’s library is the William H. Holtzclaw Library.
Holtzclaw's house, called the Holtzclaw Mansion was the last surviving building from the original campus. It was listed as one of the ten most endangered places in Mississippi and was demolished in 2014.
Personal life
Holtzclaw was born in
Randolph County, Alabama
Randolph County is a county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Alabama.
"ACES Randolph County Office" (links/history),
Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), 2007, webpage:
ACES-Randolph
As of the 2020 census, the ...
, near the town of Roanoke, to Jerry and Addie Greer Holtzclaw. He wrote directly to
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
asking for and receiving admission to Tuskegee Institute. He was married to educator Mary Ella Patterson who he met at Tuskegee and they had three sons and two daughters.
References
External links
The Black Man's Burdenby William H Holtzclaw on the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtzclaw, William Henry
1870 births
1943 deaths
19th-century American educators
19th-century African-American educators