Stanly Hall, Locust Level NC

Mooreville Enterprise, 15 Sep 1927

Often I stumble across new finds only to quickly realize there are many who are already aware. It’s tough to get excited when the response to such finds is “oh sure, such and such wrote about that,” or, “take a look …there’s a link about that on the town’s front page!” Today I happened across an old newspaper article making me aware of what many others already know. This may be nothing new, but the article does add context to a story worth retelling.

In March of 1879 Miss Frances Ellingwood Ufford faithfully left New York in support of the Presbyterian Home Mission. She moved to Concord NC where nearby Log Cabin School on Rocky River Ridge became the setting for her vision of a better way of education. On that site sprang White School which later became Jackson Training School.

As mentioned in the article above, Miss Ufford sensed and acted on the need for a proper school in western Stanly County.  Named Stanly Hall, the school is located next to Beulah Presbyterian Church on the 1904-10 C. M Miller map of Stanly County. Take a look:

C. M Miller map of Stanly County

And from a pamphlet remembering Miss. Ufford’s works can be found the above images of her schools including the majestic Stanly Hall which once broke the skyline along present day Hwy 24-27.

I ask that as you drive Hwy 49 curious as to the remnants of Jackson Training School, take time to imagine the old log cabin school along with the later White School. And for those passing through Locust, take time to imagine Stanly Hall. How did its construction change the demographics along the old Charlotte Hwy? From the article we learn that the school fell to fire but that its memory was once honored in the form of a class reunion.

The story was always there but I had no clue. There are many articles on this subject; take time to do a google search. Did you know there was even an act of our state legislature commanding that no alcohol be made in the proximity of Stanly Hall?