Spartan Stories
Tales from the UNCG University Archives
State Normal and Industrial School
Lina McDonald: The First Campus Mystery
by Kathelene McCarty Smith Graduating Class of the State Normal and Industrial School, 1893 Lina McDonald is not pictured Working at the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives is always interesting. Recently, I came across one of the earliest campus mysteries – the tragic accident of a student who lost her life several […]
Charles Duncan McIver and the Rise of Teachers Institutes in North Carolina
by Kathelene McCarty Smith Charles Duncan McIver, president and founder of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNC Greensboro), had an interest in expanding women’s education which began much earlier than the founding of the college in 1891. His dedication to teaching and his commitment to meeting the challenges of educating women in the […]
The First Day of Class at State Normal, ca. 1892
by Kathelene McCarty Smith When a current UNC Greensboro student walks down College Avenue, they see quite a different campus than an earlier student would have experienced. On October 5, 1892, the State Normal and Industrial School welcomed 176 students to the new girls college. There were only three building on the grounds – Main […]
Edward Jacob Forney, A Man of Many Talents
by Kathelene McCarty Smith Edward Jacob Forney was a truly remarkable man. Born in Lincoln County, North Carolina in 1860, he witnessed the Civil War, Reconstruction, and two World Wars before his death in 1948 at 80 years old. One of his earliest memories was watching a Northern soldier shooting out the windows of his […]
Lucy Robertson: Academic and Activist
by Kathelene McCarty Smith While Lucy Henderson Owen Robertson (1850 – 1930) was a member of the staff of State Normal and Industrial College (now UNC Greensboro) for only a short time, she made a lasting impression on the college, the city of Greensboro, and education in the South. Robertson was born in Warrenton, North […]
The Library as a Hub of Learning (Part One)
Since the school’s founding in 1892, the library has played a central role in supporting faculty research and student learning. From its humble beginnings in a single classroom to its current massive holdings of physical collections and online journals and databases, the library has sought to keep pace with emerging scholarly trends, changing researcher needs, evolving […]
Walter Clinton Jackson and the Documenting of the Great War
This year marks the centenary of the United States’ involvement in World War One. Over the course of twenty months (April 1917-November 2018), the nation mobilized its military, natural resources, industry, and citizens to fight an overseas war in Europe. Realizing that maintaining public morale was critical to achieving victory, the federal government and the state of […]
125 Years Ago: Starting Classes at State Normal
by Erin Lawrimore On October 5, 1892 – 125 years ago this week – the doors of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) opened its doors for an initial class of 198 women from across North Carolina. The institution was originally chartered by the State of North Carolina in February 1891, with a mission of […]
Viola Boddie: Belle of the Early Faculty
by Kathelene McCarty Smith A native of North Carolina, Viola Boddie (1864 – 1940) was a charter faculty member of the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial School (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro). Graduating at the top of her class at Peabody Teachers College in Nashville, Tennessee, her diverse teaching experience gave her […]
Ezekiel “Zeke” Robinson
by Erin Lawrimore Robinson with the college’s horse and buggy When the doors opened at the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) on October 5, 1892, school president Charles Duncan McIver had 15 well-qualified faculty members and nearly 200 young female students. While cooks, janitors, handymen, and others worked behind the scenes to keep […]
