Did You Know?

Based on the ball the child is holding, this is a 1924 photograph of Montreat Normal School students.

In 1913, Dr. Robert Anderson, President of the Mountain Retreat Association, first proposed that Montreat establish a post-secondary school, noting that the Montreat Hotel and other facilities were seldom used in the winter. A committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States took up the matter and concluded that with the addition of heat and school equipment, the buildings could easily support a Normal School for Teachers. In 1915, the General Assembly agreed and Dr. Anderson set about raising $30,000 so that the school could operate debt-free for five years while establishing itself. In the Fall of 1916, Montreat Normal School opened with eight boarding students and two young men who were day students. The school curriculum provided a four-year high school program and a two-year college program to train teachers. Boarding students and three teachers lived in the Montreat Hotel, which also housed the classrooms. Cost was $225 per student for the academic year.

During its first eight years, Montreat Normal School changed leadership often. While Dr. Anderson remained president until his retirement in 1947, the school had six different principals from 1916 to 1924. Seeking an experienced educator who could oversee the growth of the school and move it toward accreditation, Dr. Anderson hired S. L. Woodward in 1924. Woodward had served for many years as superintendent of schools in Plant City, Florida, and then in Morristown, Tennessee. His first year was challenging. The Montreat Hotel had burned in January 1924 and the school finished that year in two older structures. By the time of Woodward’s arrival, the Hotel Alba had been fitted with a heating system and it became the new home for the school. During succeeding years, the curriculum and the faculty expanded slowly, with some classes moving to the Lakeside Building. In 1931, fifteen seniors graduated.

Woodward’s attention to academics bore fruit in 1933 when Montreat Normal School received full accreditation and became Montreat College (junior college at that time). Woodward left Montreat that year and attention then shifted to growth. Enrollment in the college grew from 30 in the Fall of 1933 to 221 by 1941. Additional buildings supported both the college and the growing summer conference programs. By the time of Dr. Anderson’s retirement in 1947, Montreat College had become a four-year college for women.

Much of this information comes from “100 Years of Montreat College” by Sue Diehl.

Thanks to the Presbyterian Heritage Center, especially Nancy Midgette, for this glimpse from the past. Stop by the PHC for additional Montreat history and so much more. Have an idea for a future “Did You Know?”? Let Nancy know at midgette@elon.edu.