Burwell School
Burwell School in Hillsborough was established in 1837 by the Reverend Robert Amistead Burwell and his wife, Margaret Anna Burwell. The Burwells opened the Presbyterian school for young females shortly after arriving from Petersburg, Va. The school enrolled 40 girls aged 8 to 18 in its first year, at a tuition rate of $17.50 per term. By 1848, when the building that housed the school was enlarged a second time, the school's catalog boasted 107 pupils from as far away as New York. In 1857, however, the Burwells moved to Charlotte to become directors of the Charlotte Female Institute (later to become Queens College*). In 1871, after the death of Margaret Burwell, Robert and his son John Bott Burwell presided over Peace Institute (later Peace College*). The original Burwell School in Hillsborough was purchased by the Historic Hillsborough Commission in 1965 and became a public museum.
Queen's College adopted the name Queens University of Charlotte in 2002.
Peace College adopted the name William Peace University in 2011.
References:
Hugh T. Lefler and Paul Wager, eds., Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953).
M. C. S. Noble, A History of the Public Schools of North Carolina (1930).
Additional Resources:
Burwell School Historic Site: http://www.burwellschool.org/
Visit Hillsborough NC: http://www.visithillsboroughnc.com/content/burwell-school-historic-site
Armistead Burwell Papers, DocSouth, UNC: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/b/Burwell,Armistead.html
Image Credit:
Burwell School with reenactors gathered for a family photo on the porch. Image courtesy of Burwell School Historic Site.
Available from http://www.burwellschool.org/photos/images/3/b5.jpg (accessed November 5, 2012).
1 January 2006 | Ireland, Robert E.
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