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They would indeed be proud today of the diverse student body and world class accomplishments made by FSU in various fields from teacher education to cyber-security. We will commemorate this transformative experience by proudly “Celebrating 150 Years of Excellence in Preparing Educators, Leaders, and Engaged Citizens ” during the 2017-2018 academic year.
1865
In 1865, a “sophisticated” education agenda was already underway in Fayetteville’s black community. Blacks citizens in Fayetteville were zealots for education and tried to have a school at Evans Chapel prior to 1865 but had problems with financial stability and space. After a request was made by John Sinclair Leary to the American Missionary Association (AMA) for a teacher, they sent Reverend Dickson whose tenure was cut short by illness.
1866
Robert Harris was named the Superintendent of the AMA school in 1866 and appointed his brother Cicero Harris as his assistant. Robert taught the intermediate level, which he called the Sumner School and assigned Cicero the primary grades, which he called the Phillips School. The curriculum at the schools emphasized fundamentals in reading, writing, practical math, and moral development. However financial stability and space were continuing problems due to the large number of schools the AMA was trying to support as well as the number of children and adults who wanted to be educated in Fayetteville.
1867
Black citizens of Fayetteville decided to establish their own school for the education of their children. They held a meeting at Evans Chapel in November of 1867, and agreed to establish the Howard School, named after General Oliver Otis Howard, Commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau. They designated David A. Bryant, Nelson Carter, Andrew Jackson Chesnutt, George W. Grange, Sr., Matthew N. Leary, Jr., Thomas Lomax, and Robert H. Simmons, and their successors as Trustees. On November 29, 1867, these seven men signed the deed and paid $136 to Robert Simmons and Henry McNeill for two lots on Gillespie Street so that the Freedmen’s Bureau could build a school for the education of black children. Robert Harris became the first Chief Executive Officer of the school when he was designated as Principal of the Howard School. In addition to reading, writing, and math, he expanded the curriculum to include science and geography, trained students to serve as teachers in small rural schools in Cumberland and surrounding counties, and also taught evening and summer school classes, thus greatly increasing the number of blacks receiving an education in the county. The Howard School became the model for graded schools in North Carolina.
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