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The county schools under Superintendent James L. Currie, 1882–1889

How the county’s public schools ran under Superintendent James L. Currie from 1882 to 1889: the white and Black teachers’ associations and institutes, the new Board of Education of 1885, the school reports showing short terms and unequal pay, and Currie’s resignation in 1889.

In briefOrange County's Black public schools ran far shorter terms than its white schools, and Black teachers and parents pressed for more. In 1882 the Rev. James L. Currie of Chapel Hill became county superintendent. In 1884 Black teachers petitioned for a summer institute, which Currie conducted, and formed a county teachers' association. The Board of Education formed under an 1885 law funded an institute for Black teachers. Currie's 1887 report showed white schools averaging close to nine weeks and Black schools under four and a half, with Black women teachers paid $17 a month against $24 for white women. In 1888 the board tabled a petition from Cool Spring's Black parents for Black committeemen, and in 1889 Currie resigned.

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The full story

On August 7, 1882 the county's justices and board of education elected the Rev. James L. Currie, Presbyterian pastor at Chapel Hill, county superintendent of public instruction. In 1884 Orange had 33 white and 31 Black public schools, mostly log, with a term under ten weeks. That April the county's Black teachers petitioned the commissioners for a summer institute, and in late July seventeen of them attended one Currie conducted at the court house. In November they met as the Colored Teachers' Association of Orange County. Under an 1885 law the county formed a Board of Education, which voted $50 for an institute for Black teachers and told Currie to visit and grade every school. In June 1886 the board asked the commissioners for a special tax of $2,000 to keep the schools open the four months the law required. Currie's report of December 1887 showed white schools averaging close to nine weeks and Black schools under four and a half, with Black women teachers paid $17 a month against $24 for white women. In 1888 Currie held a week's institute for each race. That September the board tabled a petition from Black parents at Cool Spring for Black committeemen. In June 1889 B. C. Patton succeeded Currie, who had resigned.

In the chronology

Events in this storyline, in date order. See these 27 dated events in the chronology →

  1. The justices and school board elect J. L. Currie county superintendent of public instruction Meeting at the court house, the county's justices of the peace and board of education elected the Rev. James L. Currie, Presbyterian pastor at Chapel Hill, county superintendent of public instruction for two years from the first Monday in December. Currie accepted on August 9, calling the choice unexpected. People: Nathaniel D. BainSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 19, 1882, p. 2
  2. Orange County's white teachers meet at Hillsborough to form a teachers' association A meeting at the court house in Hillsborough took up the forming of a teachers' association for the white teachers of Orange County. Only about four teachers came, since little notice had been given, but they favored an association, read and discussed a constitution and agreed to meet again in Hillsborough; County Superintendent J. L. Currie invited the county board of education and the school committeemen to the next meeting. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 25, 1883, p. 3
  3. Orange County reports 33 white and 31 Black public schools In 1884 Orange had 33 white and 31 Black public schools, with 1,369 white and 1,134 Black pupils, a term under ten weeks, and mostly log buildings. School property was valued at $3,500 for white schools and $2,500 for Black schools.Search the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 139
  4. Orange County's Black teachers petition the commissioners for a summer teachers' institute Meeting at Hillsborough in larger numbers than ever before, the county's Black teachers adopted a petition asking the county commissioners to spend the money the law allowed on a teachers' institute for them that summer. The white association met the same day, discussed school committees, textbooks and a four-month term, and made university president K. P. Battle an honorary member. People: James L. Currie, Kemp Plummer BattleSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), April 26, 1884, p. 2
  5. Orange County magistrates enlarge the board of commissioners from three to five Meeting at the court house, the justices of the peace voted to raise the number of county commissioners from three to five and elected N. P. Hall, D. F. Morrow, J. F. Lyon, W. H. Anderson and Merritt Cheek for two years from December 1. In joint session with the Board of Education they re-elected the Rev. James L. Currie county school superintendent by acclamation. People: James L. Currie, Merritt Cheek, Nelson Parrish HallSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 7, 1884, p. 2
  6. Black teachers of Orange County hold a teachers' institute at the court house Seventeen Black teachers attended daily sessions of a county institute for Black teachers at the Hillsborough court house, conducted by the county superintendent, Rev. J. L. Currie, with W. V. Andrews assisting. People: James L. Currie, Wilton V. AndrewsSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), July 26, 1884, p. 3
  7. Robert Bingham addresses the Orange County Teachers' Association Major Robert Bingham of Bingham School gave an educational address to the Orange County Teachers' Association at the Hillsborough court house before a good audience of men and women.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), October 18, 1884, p. 3
  8. Black teachers meet as the Colored Teachers' Association of Orange County Black teachers held an informal meeting of the Colored Teachers' Association of Orange County at Hillsborough and called another meeting for November 22, at which every Black teacher in the county was expected.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 15, 1884, p. 3
  9. Orange County sets up its first postwar Board of Education Under an 1885 law, Orange created its first Board of Education since the Civil War, chosen by the justices of the peace and county commissioners together. The Rev. J. L. Currie became superintendent in June 1885. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), pp. 140-141 · Also: Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 16, 1885, p. 3
  10. The new Board of Education sets aside $50 for an institute for Black teachers At its first meeting in the Hillsboro courthouse, the board created under the 1885 school law organized with Joseph Harris as chairman and voted fifty dollars to hold a training institute for the county's Black teachers. People: George Tayloe Winston, James L. Currie, Benjamin C. PattonDigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 34
  11. The school board requires the superintendent to visit every school and grade its teachers On resolutions offered by Professor Winston, the board told Superintendent Currie to spend a day at each public school while in session, give each teacher a mark for practical skill, meet each district committee and report on where districts and schoolhouses should be, at $2.50 a day. People: George Tayloe Winston, James L. CurrieSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 35
  12. State Superintendent S. M. Finger addresses the Orange County Teachers' Association At the invitation of the county Teachers' Association, State Superintendent of Public Instruction S. M. Finger gave a public address on the public schools at the court house. The teachers and pupils of the Nash and Kollock school, Professor Henry of the University and Miss Alice Heartt, who kept a school in town, were in the audience. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 19, 1885, p. 3
Show all 27 dated events
  1. Professor Nelson B. Henry opens a teachers' institute for Orange County's white teachers Professor Nelson B. Henry of the University opened a two-day institute for the county's white teachers at the Masonic Hall with a public lecture on education by the State on the evening of October 29. He had offered to teach methods in grammar, arithmetic, geography, reading and school management free of charge. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), October 31, 1885, p. 2
  2. W. V. Andrews takes Professor Winston's seat on the county Board of Education Professor Winston of the university left the new Orange County Board of Education six months after its first meeting, and W. V. Andrews was named in his place. People: George Tayloe Winston, Wilton V. AndrewsSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 91 · Also: Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), December 12, 1885, p. 3
  3. Superintendent Currie's first annual report lists each district schoolhouse as log or frame Currie's report read to the board in January 1886 gave the first district-by-district inventory of schoolhouses for both races, most of them log buildings valued at $50 to $200, and a school term averaging ten weeks. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 36
  4. Superintendent Currie reports a teachers' institute in session for the county's white teachers Currie wrote to the Orange County Observer that the institute for white teachers was in session with eighteen enrolled. Professor Henry and Mr. Shields of Chapel Hill taught methods of teaching by day, and a public lecture on education was given each night.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 12, 1886, p. 3 (The Teachers Institute)
  5. The school board asks the commissioners for a special tax to keep schools open four months Superintendent Currie found the schools needed $2,000 beyond their apportionment to run the four months the law required, and the board petitioned the county commissioners to levy it. The board also set a floor of $40 for each white school and $30 for each Black school. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 38
  6. The county school board adds nine new school districts under Superintendent Currie In the first years of the 1885 board, Superintendent James L. Currie laid out school districts and appointed committeemen, and by 1887 nine more districts had been created. In June 1886 he had told the board it needed $2,000 to keep the schools open four months. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 102
  7. The superintendent's report shows Black schools running half the term of white schools Currie's annual report counted 33 white and 25 Black public schools. White schools averaged close to nine weeks of teaching and Black schools under four and a half, and Black women teachers earned $17 a month against $24 for white women. People: James L. CurrieDigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 40
  8. Magistrates elect a new board of county commissioners and set the 1888 county tax Meeting at the court house, the justices of the peace elected W. D. Woods, James Y. Merritt and Sidney G. Strayhorn county commissioners for two years from December and joined the commissioners in setting the 1888 county tax at 40 cents on $100 of property. With the board of education they re-elected Rev. J. L. Currie superintendent of public instruction. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 9, 1888, p. 3
  9. The school board authorizes a countywide summer institute for teachers The board empowered Superintendent Currie to hold a teachers' institute for the whole county that summer. People: James L. CurrieSearch the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 40
  10. Superintendent Currie holds the county teachers' institute for white teachers at Hillsborough County superintendent J. L. Currie, helped by B. C. Patton and W. W. Andrews, held a week's institute for Orange County's white teachers in the Masonic Hall at Hillsborough, from Monday to Saturday noon. Twenty-one teachers enrolled; the days went to the branches taught in the public schools and the evenings to lectures and debates on education that were open to the public. People: Benjamin C. PattonSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), July 7, 1888, p. 3 · Also: Hillsboro Recorder, July 5, 1888, p. 3
  11. Superintendent Currie holds an institute for Orange County's Black teachers County superintendent J. L. Currie held a week's institute for the county's Black teachers, three weeks after the session for white teachers. Thirteen teachers attended.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), July 28, 1888, p. 3
  12. Black parents in the Cool Spring district petition for Black school committeemen Black residents of the Cool Spring district asked the board to replace their school committee with Black members of their own choosing. The board tabled the request.Search the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 41
  13. Justices and commissioners elect a new board of education and school superintendent In joint session on June 3 the justices and commissioners chose John Thompson, W. V. Andrews and D. S. Parker as the county board of education. The next day, at a joint meeting of the commissioners and the new board, B. C. Patton was elected county superintendent of public instruction in place of the Rev. J. L. Currie, who had resigned. People: John W. Thompson, James L. Currie, Wilton V. Andrews, Benjamin C. PattonSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 8, 1889, p. 3 (Joint Meeting) · Also: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952
  14. Orange County holds summer institutes for white and Black teachers Superintendent B. C. Patton, assisted by W. V. Andrews and John Thompson, held a week's institute for white teachers at the Masonic Hall beginning July 22 and one for Black teachers beginning July 29; nineteen white and twenty-two Black teachers attended, and the Black teachers closed theirs with a vote of thanks. People: John W. Thompson, Wilton V. Andrews, Benjamin C. PattonSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 17, 1889, p. 3
  15. Edwin A. Alderman holds a week's institute for Orange County's white teachers State institute conductor Edwin A. Alderman held a week-long institute for the county's white teachers at Hillsborough, closing on November 1 with addresses by Alderman and State Superintendent Finger at the court house on public schools and public education. People: John W. Thompson, Benjamin C. PattonSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 9, 1889, p. 3

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