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Not to be confused with Salem University, Salem State University, or Winston-Salem State University.
Please add all profiles of people attending or attended this Private Women's Academy
Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772[1] as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college[1] and the oldest women's college in the Southern United States.
Though Salem is regarded as a women's college, men 23 years of age and over are admitted into the continuing education program through the Martha H. Fleer Center for Adult Education and into graduate-degree programs. Salem College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
History and campus
Located in the historic Moravian community of Salem, Salem College was originally a girls' school established by the Moravians, who believed strongly in equal education for men and women. On April 22, 1772, the Little Girls' School[4] was founded. Sister Elisabeth Oesterlein, who travelled from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1766, at the age of 17, was hired as the first teacher.[4] In its early years, the girls' school at Salem was led by the Single Sisters, the unmarried women of the Moravian community. The Single Sisters lived together and were economically self-sufficient, a rarity for women in the eighteenth century.[5] It became a boarding school in 1802 and in 1866 it changed its name to the Salem Female Academy. The school began giving college diplomas in 1890. In 1907, the name was officially changed to Salem Academy and College and to this day both Salem Academy and Salem College share the campus adjacent to Old Salem.
Salem has an early history of accepting students from diverse backgrounds. Moravian records show that two enslaved African-American girls were accepted at Salem; Hanna, a ten-year-old entered the school in 1785, and Anna Maria Samuel attended the school and lived in the Single Sisters’ House from 1793 until 1795.[5] In 1826, Sally Ridge, the daughter of Cherokee leader Major Ridge, became the first American Indian student at Salem. Jane Ross, the daughter of another Cherokee chief, was also a student, but she left Salem to join her family on the Trail of Tears in 1838.[5]
The oldest building on Salem's campus is the Single Sisters' House. Originally constructed in 1785, an addition was added in 1819. The Single Sisters' House is the oldest building in the United States dedicated to the education of women. Renovation on the Single Sisters' House began in October 2005, and was completed for a re-opening ceremony on April 22, 2007 - marking the 235th anniversary of the founding of Salem. In the fourth-floor attic of the Single Sister's House is its original 1785 datestone. Several interesting features were found in the renovation process including graffiti that was covered by plaster. The building is featured in the children's book "Sister Maus," written and illustrated by Salem College Professor John Hutton. The story portrays a mouse as a stowaway on the trip from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to living in the Single Sisters' House. The story was inspired by a mouse hole found in a baseboard of the foyer.
Salem has eight residence halls on campus. Alice Wolle Clewell is designated for first-year students. The additional residence halls are named South, Bahnson House, Hattie Strong, Louisa Wilson Bitting, Mary Reynolds Babcock and Dale H. Gramley. Each hall is named after someone who was important to the Salem community. In the Spring of 2014 the Student Center was completed to showcase the beautiful campus and be a hub for Salem's student events and gatherings. The student center features a café, career center, theater, student lounge, meeting rooms and a student organizational workroom. Lambert Architecture + Interiors designed the project (built by Frank L. Blum Construction) to be modern and open while reflecting Salem's historic roots. Located adjacent to Corrin Refectory and Bryant Hall, until the completion of a new residence hall in 2018, it was never used by the college though and would be sold to Winston-Salem State University in 2020 during a time of financial instability within the college.
From 1963 to 2018, the Salem campus housed one campus of the Governor's School of North Carolina, a state-run summer program for gifted high school students.[6]
People of Note who Attended
Rachel Stokes (Montgomery) wife of Montfort Stokes, 25th Governor of NC
their daughter entered the Academy in 1804 the 10th student Mary Adelaide Lewis wife of 1) Henry Chambers died young
2) Maj. William Berkeley Lewis
their daughters
1) Margaret Adelaide Washington married George Augustine Washington
2) Mary Ann Pageot married Alphonse Yves Pageot Secretary to the French Diplomat
Rebecca Montgomery Wellborn twin sister to Rachel Wellborn Stokes wife of Brigadier General James Wellborn
daughters of Brig Gen James B Wellborn and Rebecca Montgomery Welborn
1) Rachel Wellborn Cannon wife of Newton Cannon, 8th Governor of Tennessee