Literary Fund

The Literary Fund was a term used in the nineteenth century to denote a financial account created to establish and maintain a rudimentary educational system. Each of the original colonies had such a fund, with those of Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina being the most notable. Although schools and education were mentioned in the General Assembly [2] occasionally after 1802, it was not until 1815 that a joint committee under the chairmanship of Archibald D. Murphey [3] issued a report on education in the state. In 1825 provision was made for the creation of a fund to support schools and a Literary Board to administer the money. Money in the fund came from stock owned by the state in two banks, navigation companies, the sale of public land (particularly swampland [4]), and direct appropriation. Yet no precise provision was made for the creation of a system of schools.

The Literary Fund was used for purposes other than education, including loans to individuals, current state expenses in anticipation of tax receipts, and the purchase of a library for the state following the burning [5] of the capitol building in 1831. Surplus revenue from the federal treasury in 1836 and 1838 brought additional income to the Literary Fund and a reorganization of the Literary Board.

On 8 Jan. 1839 the General Assembly enacted North Carolina's first public school [6] law. Local funds were to be employed, but money from the Literary Fund was also to be granted each school district. The Literary Fund remained a significant part of the system until after the end of the Civil War [7], when the Literary Board was dissolved by the legislature effective in May 1868.

Additional Resources:

Coon, Charles L. The Beginnings of Public Education in North Carolina: a Documentary History 1790-1840. Raleigh, N.C.:Edwards and Broughton Printing Co. 1908. http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,333143 [9]