Considering the Past: Topics in M.C. History

On February 27, 1891 the Baptist Female University charter was ratified by the North Carolina Baptist Convention and issued by the North Carolina legislature.  (A college charter is a written grant by a legislative power, by which the school is founded and its rights and privileges defined.) This action followed years of preliminary events, beginning in 1835 when the Convention appointed a committee “to consider the establishment of a female seminary of high order.” But with more interest in supporting Wake Forest College and missionary work, plus the financial setbacks of the Civil War and Reconstruction, very little progress was made toward opening a woman’s school. Once the charter was granted, outlining the powers of the trustees and designating a location, funds still had to be raised, property secured and buildings constructed. Finally, in 1899, the doors of the Baptist Female University were opened to enthusiastic students.