Gregory Normal School Explained

Gregory Normal School was an American segregated high school in Wilmington, North Carolina for African American students, that operated from 1868 to 1921.^[1] It was the first school admitting African American students in Wilmington after the American Civil War.^[2] It had been named the Wilmington Normal School, and the Gregory Normal Institute.

History

It was originally known as Wilmington Normal School when it was organized by a group of eight Protestant missionaries from New England who were sponsored by the American Missionary Association. It was a high school-level school that sought to prepare its students for studying in colleges and universities elsewhere.

It was renamed the Gregory Normal Institute in 1883 in honor of James J. H. Gregory of Marblehead, Massachusetts, who made a substantial donation to the school's operations.^{[3] [4]}

In 1921, the classes ceased at this site. The Gregory Congregational Church (now Gregory Congregational United) that stood next to the school is still active. A public elementary school located a few blocks away from the former site is named the Gregory School.

Alumni

• George Edward Davis,^[5] professor at Biddle University and later supervisor of Rosenwald School building
• Addie Whiteman Dickerson (1878–1940), businessperson, politician, clubwoman, suffragist, and peace activist^[6]
• Caroline Sadgwar Manly, one of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and wife of Alexander Manly^[7]
• Bertha McNeill (1887–1979), activist and educator^[8]

Additional sources

• History of Education in North Carolina, p. 329

Notes and References

1. News: Rubin . Richard . April 25, 1988 . Dedication of state marker reminds some of school days . 8 . Star-News . Google News.
2. News: 2023-01-10 . Historic district would save city landmarks . A3 . Hickory Daily Record . 2023-09-04 . Newspapers.com.
3. Web site: Hill . Michael . 1987 . Gregory Normal Institute . NCpedia.
4. News: 1902-06-27 . Gregory Normal School . 1 . The Free Press . 2023-09-04 . Newspapers.com.
5. Web site: Newkirk . Richard T. . Stack . Claudia . February 27, 2019 . Local Shout: The Other George Davis . PortCity Daily.
6. Web site: Biographical Sketch of Addie Whiteman Dickerson . live . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220314/https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cbibliographic_details%7C4078787/biographical-sketch-addie-whiteman-dickerson . 2022-03-14 . Alexander Street.
7. Web site: Staton . John . March 15, 2023 . How a Wilmington woman is connected to 1898 and to music history . Wilmington StarNews.
8. Book: Ware, Susan . Notable American Women: a Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century . 2004 . Belknap Press . 978-0-674-01488-6 . Ware . Susan . Cambridge, Mass. . 436 . Braukman . Stacy Lorraine . Internet Archive.