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 [6] served as a professor on its faculty in later years. In 1900 the school came under control of the Methodist Church [7]. 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 [8] merged with Brevard Institute [9] 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: https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/division-historical-resources/nc-highway-historical-marker-program/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=N-29%20-%20RUTHERFORD%20COLLEGE [10]
Act to prevent sale of alcohol near Rutherford Seminary: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/private-laws-of-the-state-of-north-carolina-passed-by-the-general-assembly-1868-1869/1952675?item=2042257 [11]
Weaver College, NC Highway Historical Marker P-74: https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/division-historical-resources/nc-highway-historical-marker-program/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=P-74%20-%20WEAVER%20COLLEGE [12]
Laws and resolutions of the State of North Carolina, passed by the General Assembly at its session [1881]: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/laws-and-resolutions-of-the-state-of-north-carolina-passed-by-the-general-assembly-at-its-session-1881/3889515?item=3893991 [13]
Rutherford College yearbooks: https://lib.digitalnc.org/search?ln=en&p=691:%22Rutherford+College%22%20AND%20655:%22Yearbooks%22&sf=year&so=a [14]
Image Credit:
Robert Laban Abernethy. Image courtesy of NC Office of Archives & History. Available from https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/division-historical-resources/nc-highway-historical-marker-program/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=N-29%20-%20RUTHERFORD%20COLLEGE [10] (accessed November 11, 2012).
1 January 2006 | Carroll, Grady L. E., Sr.