Lincoln Academy (King's Mountain, N. Car.)
Historical Note
In 1886, Miss E. C. Prudden opened a school for African American girls at Kingâs Mountain, North Carolina. Two years later, Miss. L. S. Cathcart became the principal and raised money for a school building. The American Missionary Association took over control of the school, and boys were admitted to the school the following year in 1889.
Due to increasing enrollment, a new school building and dormitories were built during the 1890s. In 1900, Cathcart Memorial Hall, designed to house three hundred students, was built, and during the next two decades the school expanded and constructed more buildings to house the increasing student body.
In 1922, the state took the first step in making Lincoln Academy a public institution, paying the salary of one teacher. By 1935, the state paid all teachers' salaries. The level of eighth grade was added to the curriculum during the 1938-1939 year. By this time, the school had become accredited by the State Department of Education.
The AMA solicited community responsibility for Lincoln Academy beginning in 1943. Edgar D. Wilson was elected director, although the previous director, Curtis McDowell, remained to oversee transferral. The AMA turned faculty selection over to directors in all high schools. Wilson officially took over as director in June 1944.
In 1947, Gaston County, North Carolina, took over the high school, renting the Lincoln buildings from the AMA, which retained control of the boarding department to serve out-of-state students. By 1955, new public schools for African American students had opened in the county and Lincoln Academy was closed.
Abstract:
American Missionary Association archives 1969 addendum