Piedmont Plateau

Region

Women

Lee Smith (1944 – )

1916-1945

Smith has earned recognition as one of the most important writers of southern and Appalachian literature. A recipient of many awards, she was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2009.

Commentary
Military History

Charles Cornwallis: One General Among Several

1776-1835

There's a lot to learn about General Charles Cornwallis, starting with the fact that he was never overall British commander during the American Revolution.

Cities

Salem

1664-1775

A Moravian town formed in 1772, Salem, or Old Salem, was once the center of the Wachovia Tract. Salem's history is rooted in Moravian culture and religion.

Revolution Era

Pyle’s Defeat: A Little-Known Rout with Big Consequences

1776-1835

Pyle’s Defeat occurred in February 1781 near the end of the Revolution. It was a savage blow to British hopes, as Lt. Gen. Charles, Lord Cornwallis attempted to stop the Patriots’ momentum.

Churches

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

1946-1990

Since 1951, Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest has been a leader in the cultural and theological changes within Baptist churches, especially those affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Baptists in the United States formed the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions in 1814. Also...

Colleges and Universities

Braxton Craven: Forgotten Educator (1822 – 1882)

1776-1835

“The history of Trinity College is the history of Braxton Craven.” So said Thomas N. Ivey, an early biographer of the Methodist minister and educator. Ivey, a graduate of Trinity College, astutely described the inseparable connection between the man and the institution. Craven (1822–1882) devoted his life and career to building a humble school into...

Education

University of Mount Olive

1946-1990

The University of Mount Olive opened its doors in 1952, after the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists approved the founding of a junior college named Allen Junior College.

Colleges and Universities

Carolina University

1866-1915

Carolina University is a non-denominational Christian school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1947 by Dr. Charles H. Stevens, it offers courses from theology to engineering.

African American

Anna Julia Cooper (1858 – 1964)

1836-1865

Anna Julia Cooper was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1858. It is believed she was the daughter of her enslaver, Fabius J. Haywood. Cooper was emancipated when she was nine years old and in 1867 enrolled in Saint Augustine’s Normal and Collegiate Institute in Raleigh with the aid of the Freedmen’s Bureau. At Saint...

Colleges and Universities

Lenoir-Rhyne University

1866-1915

Lenoir-Rhyne University was founded in 1891 by four Lutheran pastors—Andrew L. Crouse, Robert A. Yoder, William P. Cline, and Jason C. Moser—to provide students with an education grounded in Christian faith and values. The institution began as Highland Academy, a one-room schoolhouse with twelve students during its first year. The school was located in Hickory,...

Colleges and Universities

Salem College

1664-1775

The story of Salem College goes back to 1744, when immigrants from Moravia settled in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.There, Moravians fostered communitarian values, and each individual devoted labor to community needs in exchange for food and shelter, in a system known as oeconomies. They kept this enterprising spirit as they expanded into North Carolina and founded the...

Commentary
Early America

Joseph Hewes and the Navy

1664-1775

Joseph Hewes is best known as one of North Carolina’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence. But he also played an important role in the creation of the U.S. Navy. In fact, a World War II transport ship, the U.S.S. Joseph Hewes, was named for him, and so was a frigate deployed in the...