Mars Hill
It was largely due to unselfish
service and whole-hearted sac¬
rifice that this Junior College in
the mountains survived and be¬
came the important educational
factor which it now is.
By ORVILLE CAMPBELL
■ OCA TED iu the heart of the moun-
| tains of Madison County, only
■^twenty miles from Asheville, is
found one of the best Junior colleges
in our Southland; yet many people
of our own state have never heard of
Mare Hill College.
Founded iu the fall of 1856, under
the name of “The French Broad Bap¬
tist Institute,” with Messrs. W. A. G.
Brown (father of the late Dr.
Л.
E.
Brown) and P. W. Anderson iu
charge, this school has made wonder¬
ful progress from the very beginning.
On February 16, 1859, a little more
than two years after the opening in
1856, the first charter of the school
was secured and the name was changed
to “Mare Hill College.”
Burned During Civil War
During the Civil War, soldiers were
quartered in its buildings; a large dor¬
mitory was burned, and the lone re¬
maining building was greatly dam¬
aged. The school re-opened in 1S65
amid the gloom and wreck and pov¬
erty following the war, and was car¬
ried on with varied success during
the following twenty-four years. In
1890 the trustees took a forward step
in electing the late T. M. Ilufuian
to the presidency of the institution.
Later Dr. John E. White, recently
deceased, was associated with him.
For the past forty-one years the school
has been under the able leadership of
Dr. R. L. Moore.
When Dr. Moore accepted the pres¬
idency of Mars Hill in 1897, it was a
small, struggling school in an almost
isolated section of Madison County.
The trustees, who until that time had
assumed the financial responsibility
of the college, turned the institution
over to the new president with the in¬
structions that he fix rates, employ
teachers, and maintain the school gen¬
erally.
Some years the president's share of
the income after all expenses were
met was as little as $200. When the
college was sufficiently well estab¬
lished financially. President Moore
allowed himself u small salary and
turned all additional earnings or do¬
nations back to the college, lie also
returned the control of the business
end of the school to the board of trus¬
tees, continuing to accept for himself
only a meagre salary, a part of which
he nearly always donated for some
need of the college.
During these years of hardship,
Mrs. Moore, the president’s wife,
shared with her husband in helping
to provide educational advantages for
young men and young women of the
mountain region and beyond. After
her first three years at Mars Hill she
gave up her home and resided in the
dormitory for girls. Largely as a
result of her efforts, lioard and room,
with heat, lights and linen, were pro¬
vided students for $5 a month, a part
of which was sometimes paid in food¬
stuffs, wood, or labor.
Honored Mrs. Moore
Bv way of honoring Mrs. Moore
for her faithful and heroic work, the
new dormitory which is being con¬
structed on the campus, will bo known
as the Edna Co r polling Moore Dormi¬
tory for Girls. If work can continue
without interruption the building
should be completed in time for dedi¬
cation at Commencement and be ready
for occupancy next fall. This build¬
ing will be the largest and best con¬
structed on the campus and will pro¬
vide needed rooms for 120 students
and teachers. It is being built at a
cost of one hundred thousand dollars.
The strength of a college is deter¬
mined largely by the quality of its
faculty. Mars Hill is fortunate in
the character and loyalty of the mem-
Dr. and Mrs. R. L. Moore. From the
standpoint of service, Dr. Moore is
the oldest college president in North
or South Carolina. He and his wife
have devoted their lives to the suc¬
cess of Mars Hill College.
bers of its staff. Twenty of the teach¬
ers and administrative officers have
served the college for more than ten
years, several of them for more than
a score of years.
Most of the men and women who
comprise the faculty hold advanced
degrees in their particular fields and
have done gradunte work in the lead¬
ing universities and graduate schools
of America. More than thirty higher
institutions are represented among
those attended by members of the fac¬
ulty.
Under the able direction of Miss
Gladys Johnson, the school has one
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