Storer College
Encyclopedia
Storer College was a historically black college
located in Harpers Ferry
in Jefferson County
, West Virginia
. It operated from 1865 until 1955.
. Beginning life as a one-room school for freedmen, Storer grew into a full-fledged degree-granting college open to all races, creeds, and colors. Former slaves thrown into the world with no training, no skills, and no education found at Storer a place to learn to read and write, to teach others in their community, and to develop marketable skills. Their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren found place of learning in the days of racial segregation. Students left Storer with the education, the training, and perhaps most importantly, the sense of worth needed to make their way in an unsympathetic society.
, a portion of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to open its doors to students was the Lockwood House, formerly the US Armory Paymaster's quarters. In 1865, as a representative of New England
's Freewill Baptist Home Mission Society, Reverend Nathan Cook Brackett established a primary school in the war torn building, teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic to the children of former slaves. This school was part of a larger national effort by northern philanthropic organizations and the government's Freedmen's Bureau to educate the thousands of African Americans freed by the 13th Amendment
to the US Constitution. From Harpers Ferry, Reverend Brackett directed the efforts of dedicated missionary teachers, who provided a basic education to thousands of former slaves congregated in the relatively safe haven of the Shenandoah Valley
by the end of the American Civil War
.
teachers. The little grammar school in the Lockwood House needed to become a teaching college.
In 1867, Reverend Brackett's school came to the attention of John Storer, a philanthropist
from Maine
through Rev. Oren B. Cheney
, founder of Bates College
, a Freewill Baptist school in Maine. Storer offered a $10,000 grant to the Freewill Baptists for a "colored school" in the South
if several conditions could be met. First, the school must eventually become a degree-granting college. Second, the school had to be open to all applicants, regardless of race or gender. And, finally, the most difficult prerequisite: The Freewill Baptist Church had to match the $10,000 donation within the year. After a year-long effort, the money was raised, and Storer Normal School opened its doors, and by March 1868 it received its state charter.
to pulling political strings in their efforts to shut down the school. One teacher wrote, "it is unusual for me to go to the Post Office without being hooted at, and twice I have been stoned on the streets at noonday."
These efforts did not succeed in closing Storer Normal School
, and eventually, local attitudes changed. Later in his life, Reverend Brackett became a respected citizen of Harpers Ferry.
As the years went by, Storer remained primarily a Teachers College, but added courses in higher education as well as in industrial training. Students graduated with a normal degree for teaching or an academic degree
for those going on to college.
delivered his famous speech on abolitionist John Brown
at Storer Normal School
.
In August 1906, Storer Normal School
hosted the second conference of the Niagara Movement
. Formed by a group of leading African American
intellectuals, the Niagara Movement
struggled to eliminate discrimination based on color. The movement's leader, Doctor W. E. B. Du Bois, rejected the prevalent theory of "accommodation" espoused by Booker T. Washington
, who advocated conciliation rather than agitation as a means of gaining social equality. The Niagara Movement
never hesitated to agitate, publishing an annual "Address to the World", demanding voting rights, educational and economic opportunities, justice in the courts, and recognitions in unions
and the military
. Their aggressive tone alienated many conservative African American
and white leaders, and eroded political support for their group. During the 1906 conference, Storer staff expressed discomfort with the group's militancy and dismay at their tendency to consider even progressive whites as the enemy.
By 1910, five years after it was formed, the Niagara Movement
was dissolved. While it did not produce material gains in the civil rights
arena, the Niagara Movement
made it clear there was a large group of people who would settle for nothing less than full civil rights
, thereby laying a valuable foundation for the development of a more broad-based push for equality.
When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) was formed in New York City
in 1910, many of the members of the failing Niagara Movement
joined immediately. The NAACP adopted many of the goals of the Niagara Movement
. In its most famous victory, the NAACP took Brown v. Board of Education
to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 and won. In an ironic twist of fate, Storer College, which had played host to the Niagara Movement
that paved the way for the formation of the NAACP, suffered from that decision.
.
Although the school granted four-year degrees, it was never accredited, and the college was forced to turn away some students. Those who wanted to be doctors, for example, were not admitted, because the college lacked the money to provide the necessary facilities to properly prepare students for these advanced studies.
case ended legal segregation
in public schools in the United States
. Immediately after the ruling, West Virginia
withdrew its financial support from Storer College. Financial burdens had been accumulating for a decade, and in June 1955, Storer College closed its doors forever. (West Virginia continues to support two other historically black state universities: Bluefield State College
and West Virginia State University
.)
, a Baptist
college, and used to establish scholarships for black students. The college's endowment was transferred to Virginia Union University
, a historically black institution. Records of the college are maintained by Virginia Union and by Howard University
.
Virginia Union considers graduates of the college to be alumni of VUU.
The campus of the college is now maintained as a part of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
. The three remaining structures that were used as part of the Storer College campus now house the National Park Service
's Stephen T. Mather Training Center and the Service's library. The Training Center is one of four major training centers operated by and for the National Park Service
, and is named for the Service's first Director, Stephen Mather.
Each August, the alumni of Storer gather in Harpers Ferry for their now annual reunion. At last count the alumni is now less than 70 (the last person to graduate in 1955 is now around 74).
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
located in Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. It operated from 1865 until 1955.
Storer School
For over 88 years, the place of education ultimately known as "Storer College" stood high above Harpers Ferry on Camp HillCamp Hill
-Australia:* Camp Hill, Queensland, a southern suburb of Brisbane* Camp Hill, a prominent hill in Bendigo with public lookout over the CBD-United States:* Camp Hill, Alabama* Camp Hill, Pennsylvania* Camp Hill, Glenn Springs, South Carolina, a historic site...
. Beginning life as a one-room school for freedmen, Storer grew into a full-fledged degree-granting college open to all races, creeds, and colors. Former slaves thrown into the world with no training, no skills, and no education found at Storer a place to learn to read and write, to teach others in their community, and to develop marketable skills. Their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren found place of learning in the days of racial segregation. Students left Storer with the education, the training, and perhaps most importantly, the sense of worth needed to make their way in an unsympathetic society.
Educating freedmen
The first building on Camp HillCamp Hill
-Australia:* Camp Hill, Queensland, a southern suburb of Brisbane* Camp Hill, a prominent hill in Bendigo with public lookout over the CBD-United States:* Camp Hill, Alabama* Camp Hill, Pennsylvania* Camp Hill, Glenn Springs, South Carolina, a historic site...
, a portion of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to open its doors to students was the Lockwood House, formerly the US Armory Paymaster's quarters. In 1865, as a representative of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
's Freewill Baptist Home Mission Society, Reverend Nathan Cook Brackett established a primary school in the war torn building, teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic to the children of former slaves. This school was part of a larger national effort by northern philanthropic organizations and the government's Freedmen's Bureau to educate the thousands of African Americans freed by the 13th Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...
to the US Constitution. From Harpers Ferry, Reverend Brackett directed the efforts of dedicated missionary teachers, who provided a basic education to thousands of former slaves congregated in the relatively safe haven of the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
by the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Teaching teachers
Dedicated as they were, these few teachers could not begin to meet the educational needs of the freedmen in the area. By 1867, there were still only 16 teachers to educate 2,500 students. Reverend Brackett realized the only way to reach all these students was to train African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
teachers. The little grammar school in the Lockwood House needed to become a teaching college.
In 1867, Reverend Brackett's school came to the attention of John Storer, a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
through Rev. Oren B. Cheney
Oren B. Cheney
Oren Burbank Cheney was the founder of Bates College, an abolitionist, and a Free Will Baptist clergyman.-Early life:...
, founder of Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
, a Freewill Baptist school in Maine. Storer offered a $10,000 grant to the Freewill Baptists for a "colored school" in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
if several conditions could be met. First, the school must eventually become a degree-granting college. Second, the school had to be open to all applicants, regardless of race or gender. And, finally, the most difficult prerequisite: The Freewill Baptist Church had to match the $10,000 donation within the year. After a year-long effort, the money was raised, and Storer Normal School opened its doors, and by March 1868 it received its state charter.
Local attitudes
Raising $10,000 turned out to be easy compared to facing local resistance to a "colored school." Residents of Harpers Ferry tried everything from slander and vandalismVandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
to pulling political strings in their efforts to shut down the school. One teacher wrote, "it is unusual for me to go to the Post Office without being hooted at, and twice I have been stoned on the streets at noonday."
These efforts did not succeed in closing Storer Normal School
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
, and eventually, local attitudes changed. Later in his life, Reverend Brackett became a respected citizen of Harpers Ferry.
The three Rs and more
Understanding that former slaves needed to learn more than the three Rs to function in society, Storer founders looked to provide more than a basic education. According to the first college catalog, students were to "receive counsel and sympathy, learn what constitutes correct living, and become qualified for the performance of the great work of life." In its early years, Storer taught freedmen to read, write, spell, do sums, and to go back into their communities to teach others these lessons.As the years went by, Storer remained primarily a Teachers College, but added courses in higher education as well as in industrial training. Students graduated with a normal degree for teaching or an academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
for those going on to college.
Civil rights
In 1881, Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
delivered his famous speech on abolitionist John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
at Storer Normal School
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
.
In August 1906, Storer Normal School
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
hosted the second conference of the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
. Formed by a group of leading African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
intellectuals, the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
struggled to eliminate discrimination based on color. The movement's leader, Doctor W. E. B. Du Bois, rejected the prevalent theory of "accommodation" espoused by Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, who advocated conciliation rather than agitation as a means of gaining social equality. The Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
never hesitated to agitate, publishing an annual "Address to the World", demanding voting rights, educational and economic opportunities, justice in the courts, and recognitions in unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
and the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
. Their aggressive tone alienated many conservative African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and white leaders, and eroded political support for their group. During the 1906 conference, Storer staff expressed discomfort with the group's militancy and dismay at their tendency to consider even progressive whites as the enemy.
By 1910, five years after it was formed, the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
was dissolved. While it did not produce material gains in the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
arena, the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
made it clear there was a large group of people who would settle for nothing less than full civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, thereby laying a valuable foundation for the development of a more broad-based push for equality.
When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) was formed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1910, many of the members of the failing Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
joined immediately. The NAACP adopted many of the goals of the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
. In its most famous victory, the NAACP took Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 and won. In an ironic twist of fate, Storer College, which had played host to the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
that paved the way for the formation of the NAACP, suffered from that decision.
Storer College
In 1938, under the leadership of school president Henry T. McDonald, Storer became a college. Enrollment peaked at around 400, and dipped lower during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Although the school granted four-year degrees, it was never accredited, and the college was forced to turn away some students. Those who wanted to be doctors, for example, were not admitted, because the college lacked the money to provide the necessary facilities to properly prepare students for these advanced studies.
Final days
In 1954, the US Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of EducationBrown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
case ended legal segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
in public schools in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Immediately after the ruling, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
withdrew its financial support from Storer College. Financial burdens had been accumulating for a decade, and in June 1955, Storer College closed its doors forever. (West Virginia continues to support two other historically black state universities: Bluefield State College
Bluefield State College
Bluefield State College is a historically black college located in Bluefield, West Virginia, United States. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and offers baccalaureate and associate degrees. The school is not connected in any way with Bluefield College in nearby Bluefield,...
and West Virginia State University
West Virginia State University
West Virginia State University is a historically black public college in Institute, West Virginia, United States. In the Charleston-metro area, the school is usually referred to simply as "State" or "West Virginia State"...
.)
The legacy
In 1964, the movable physical assets of the college were transferred to the historically white Alderson-Broaddus CollegeAlderson-Broaddus College
Alderson–Broaddus College — informally known as "A–B" — is a private, four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the West Virginia Baptist Convention located in Philippi, West Virginia, USA...
, a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
college, and used to establish scholarships for black students. The college's endowment was transferred to Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University is a historically black university located in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It took its present name in 1899 upon the merger of two older schools, Richmond Theological Institute and Wayland Seminary, each founded after the end of American Civil War by the American...
, a historically black institution. Records of the college are maintained by Virginia Union and by Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
.
Virginia Union considers graduates of the college to be alumni of VUU.
The campus of the college is now maintained as a part of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in and around Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The park includes land in Jefferson County, West Virginia; Washington County, Maryland and Loudoun County, Virginia. The park is managed by the...
. The three remaining structures that were used as part of the Storer College campus now house the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
's Stephen T. Mather Training Center and the Service's library. The Training Center is one of four major training centers operated by and for the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, and is named for the Service's first Director, Stephen Mather.
Each August, the alumni of Storer gather in Harpers Ferry for their now annual reunion. At last count the alumni is now less than 70 (the last person to graduate in 1955 is now around 74).
Notable alumni and faculty
External links
- An Online Exhibit -- Historic photos of Storer College developed by Beth Jane Toren and Alisha Myers, including photos from the West Virginia University Libraries West Virginia and Regional History Collection.