State

Hillfield Academy Tlio name doesn't mean a thing to most members of the present generation, but it was a great educational institution in its day and IT was about 1840 that Joseph In¬ gram opened an “old field" school on bis plantation near the Nouse River in Johnston County. Daniel Finlnyson and Burbon Ivev were the teachers in this early school. By 1850 the Ingram school had practically ceased to operate. In 1849 a community school building was erected on the Rizzo 11 place in the same neighborhood, but only one school session was ever taught there. Hillfield Academy, located opposite the present Sander’s Chapel on the old Goldsboro-Srnithficld road, was built in 1850 by Ashley Guy Rowell to replace the Ingrain schoolhouse a short distance away. This was a “mixed boarding school” and Bryan Smith and Ashley Powell were the chief promoters and supporters. Many teachers and boarding students were obtained through newspaper advertising. At odd times while not being used for teaching, the academy building was the meeting place for a debating society. It was also a “Sons of Temperance” ball and a meeting house for various preachers who went about the country in that day. Built of Logs The Academy building was eighty yards back from the road in a grove. It was well constructed of logs, with a plank (loor and three windows hav¬ ing glass in them. A large box stove supplied heat in winter. The inside walls were not rough logs and mud as the old school had been, but were coiled with pine planks. The benches were very crude, however, and n plank- shelf served ns a writing desk. The water for the school came from n spring which, as a student Inter wrote, "supplied not only water, hut plenty of wiggletnils a.« well.” Students not living close enough to walk to school lived in the Powell home, or in other homes in the neighborhood. Four rooms, sixteen feet square, in the Powell homo wore reserved for hoarding students. These rooms were upstairs — two for the boys I imo. By WILLIAM S. POWELL and two for the girls — with separate stairways for each. The few records left say the "liest of teachers to be had were hired for the school.” Descendants of the pupils in Hillfield Academy who re¬ member having heard their parents mention the names of the teachers say they wore well-liked, but few now know which teacher taught any par¬ ticular subject. However, it is known that the following ladies came down from the North: Miss Cornelia Northern, a Mrs. Spellman, Misses Gui and Goss, and probably others. Miss Maria Young, who taught music, was from Franklin County, ns was Miss Pattic Sweany. Mrs. Mary Law and her daughter, Miss Mary Lew, who was educated at Louisburg Col¬ lege, were from Richmond, Virginia, and taught English. Other teachers, whose subjects of study are unknown, were Miss Lizzie Mayhcw, of New Bern, Miss Susan Becton, of Evorctts- ville, Miss Margaret Thompson, of Johnston County, and Miss Fannie Higdon, who was horn about 1828 in Washington. D. C., educated at Ports¬ mouth, Virginia, and was later a resident of Johnston County. The men who taught were Mr. Bill Wel- lons. Mr. Evcrette Л. Bizzcll, Mr. Bill O'Daniel, Mr. John A. Daniel, Mr. J. L. Ricks and Dr. Rudolph Vampill. a highly educated German, who gave music lessons, lie was not only u Doctor of Medicine, hut also had degrees in music and literature. Dr. Vampill was a mystery in the county and remained there only a short while. A Testimonial of Love Mrs. Pink Desmond mended the students’ clothes, saw that they be¬ haved themselves and wrote homo. Miss Angie E. Jones, another teacher, who саше from Petersburg, Virginia, wrote her lover’s name and address with a diamond which he gave her, on a window pane in the Powell home. This name remained on the window until the house was burned in 1922. Miss Ingram, who was related to the Joseph Ingram mentioned before, was so large that a special chair had to lie made for her. The seat of the chair measures twenty-two and one- half inches deep and twenty-seven inches wide. It now belongs to Mrs. J. A. Chesnutt, of Turkey, N. C. All of those teachers were not at the Academy at one time, but were there at various sessions between 1850 and 1865. Besides music and English, students also studied Latin, arith¬ metic, spelling, philosophy, history, French and art. It has been impossible to find the length of a school term at Hillfield Academy. In 1857 it lasted from January until sometime in the spring. The teachers received a salary of about 8324 a term. The tuition charged for the students, according to the account book of Ashley Powell, was six or seven cents a day, depend¬ ing upon the grade or class' in school. About 1858 Professor Ward and Dick Hamlet, of Goldsboro, taught a dancing class at the Sophia Lashley House, a short distance from Hill- field Academy. There a number of the students learned “to Waltz, Schot- tische, Polka. Mazurka, the Spanish •lance, and many Cotillions, and to Whing, Broad Shuffle, Back Step. Highland Fling, and to cut Chicken In The Bread Tray.” Partial Roster of Students A partial roster of students has been made up from a list of those going by wagon to a Fourth of July celebration in Smithfield in 1856 and from those who were in the class of “Miss Sarah” Whitley. From Beau¬ fort County, J. H. Abell and William Gailord ; from Harnett County, Sam Byrd; from Johnston County, Gaston Adam*. Fontaine Bizzcll, Elijah Farmer, Dcvernux Holt, Ilcnry Holt, Ambrose Lee, Claude Lee. John Lee, William Leo, Patrick Phillips, James Pool, Charles Powell, Britten San¬ ders, Richard Sanders, Charlie Sneed, Franklin Sneed, Alex Thain. Henry Thain, Adin P. Turner, J. R. Whit- (Cont in tied on /Huje twenly