Rutherford College [1]
Rutherford College
Rutherford College [2], a forerunner of Brevard College [3], was established in 1853 by the Reverend Robert Laban Abernethy [4] as a private school known as Owl Hollow Schoolhouse in Burke County [5]. It was built on 600 acres of forestland given by John Rutherford. In 1858 the school was chartered as Rutherford Seminary; Brantley York served as a professor on its faculty in later years. In 1900 the school came under control of the Methodist Church [6]. It was a coeducational institution, and one-fourth of the students were admitted tuition-free. Reportedly, more than 4,000 students matriculated at Rutherford College throughout its existence. In the early 1930s, Rutherford College and Weaver College [7] merged with Brevard Institute [8] at Brevard to become Brevard College [3].
References:
George W. Bumgarner and James Elwood Carroll, The Flowering of Methodism in Western North Carolina (1984).
Elmer T. Clark, Methodism in Western North Carolina (1966).
Additional Resources:
Rutherford College, NC Highway Historical Marker N-29: http://www.ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=N-29%20-%20RUTHERFORD%20COLLEGE [9]
Act to prevent sale of alochol near Rutherford Seminary: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,172984 [10]
Weaver College, NC Highway Historical Marker P-74: http://www.ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=P-74%20-%20WEAVER%20COLLEGE [11]
Laws and resolutions of the State of North Carolina, passed by the General Assembly at its session [1881]: http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,197851 [12]
Image Credit:
Robert Laban Abernethy. Image courtesy of NC Office of Archives & History. Available from http://www.ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=N-29%20-%20RUTHERFORD%20COLLEGE [9] (accessed November 11, 2012).
1 January 2006 | Carroll, Grady L. E., Sr.
