These tables of data appeared at the front of a 1903 State Board of Education report on the State Colored Normal Schools. They compare the wealth of black and white North Carolinians and provide information on the colored schools, the state's free public schools for African Americans, for the time period. 


1. Value of property in North Carolina, 1903

 

Amount

Percent of Total

White property

 $332,978,471.00   

76.8%   

Colored property     

$14,852,811.00

3.4%

Railroads, etc.

$85,856,527.00

19.8%

Total

$433,687,809.50

100.0%

2. North Carolina population, 1870-1900

 

1870

1880

1890

1900

Total Population   

1,071,361   

1,399,750   

1,617,947   

1,893,810   

White   

687,470

867,242

1,055,382

1,263,603

Colored   

392,891

532,508

562,565

630,207

Percent total population, white 

63.33%

61.69%

65.23%

66.7%

Percent total population, colored   

36.67%

38.04%

34.77%

33.3%

3. Facts about colored public schools, 1904-05

 

Rural

City

Total

Colored school population

192,720

34,256

226,976

School enrollment

132,363

16,458

148,821

Average daily attendance

73,958

9,432

83,390

Percentage of enrollment in daily attendance

56%

57%

56%

Percentage of school population enrolled

68%

48%

55%

Average number of children enrolled with each teacher   

54

61

55

Teachers employed

2,413

269

2,682

Percentage of teachers women

60.9%

72.9%

62.1%

School term in days

80

159

82

Average monthly salary of teachers     

$22.20

$31.40

$25.62

Average annual amount paid each teacher

$89.08

$248.85

$105.10

Salary per school day

$1.11

$1.57

$1.28

Salary per week while employed

$5.55

$7.85

$6.41

Salary per week (52 weeks)

$2.41

$6.57

$2.85

Total amount paid teachers

$214,951.91        

$66,940.69        

$281,892.60        

Total amount spent for buildings

$17,825.64

$4,677.58

$22,503.22

Total expenditures for colored schools

$232,777.55

$71,618.27

$304,395.82

Percentage of total expenditures spent for colored schools        

16.3%

13.5%

15.5%

Percentage of total school population colored

31.7%

38.3%

32.5%

Spent for each child enrolled

$1.76

$4.35

$2.05

Spent for each child in daily attendance

$3.14

$7.59

$3.65

Number of schools

2,284

52

2,336

Schools having only one teacher

2,168

2

2,170

Schools having two or more teachers

116

50

166

Average area covered by each rural school

-----

-----

21.3 sq. m.

School-houses

2,198

63

2,261

Log houses

293

-----

293

Value of school property

$273,368.00                

$197,438.00                

$470,806.00                

Average value of each house

$124.37

$3,133.93

$208.23

4. Increase in property values by races, 1891-1904

Year

Total Assessed Value of all Property

Railroads, Telegraph, etc

White Property

Colored Property

1891

$262,796,816           

$16,668,802           

$234,109,568                 

$8,018,446                 

1901

$342,222,009

$58,780,200

$271,981,493

$11,460,316

Increase ten years

$79,425,193

$42,111,398

$37,871,925

$3,441,870

Percentage increase ten years     

30.2%

252.6%

16.1%

42.9%

1904

$442,418,677

$87,022,746

$339,969,769

$15,426,162

Increase three years

$100,196,668

$28,242,546

$67,988,276

$3,965,846

Percentage increase three years     

29.2%

48.0%

24.9%

34.6%

1903

$433,687,809      

$85,856,527      

$332,978,471      

$14,852,811      

Increase one year

$8,730,868

$1,166,219

$6,991,298

$573,351

Percentage increase one year

2.0%

1.3%

2.1%

3.8%


Primary Source Citation: 

Second Annual Catalogue of the North Carolina State Colored Normal Schools for 1905-'06 with Announcements for 1906-'07. Raleigh: E.M. Uzzell & Co., State Printers and Binders, 1906. Joyner Library Special Collections, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/13579

Credit text

Second Annual Catalogue of the North Carolina State Colored Normal Schools for 1905-'06 (Raleigh: E. M. Uzzell & Co., for the North Carolina State Board of Education, 1906), pp. ii, 2, and 4.

Citation

"Primary Source: Wealth and Education by the Numbers, North Carolina 1900." NCpedia. Accessed on December 15th, 2024. https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/primary-source-wealth-and.