The Baptist Female University (now Meredith College), opened to students in the fall of 1899. The 180 students enrolling – when they had hoped for 125 – was nearly overwhelming, especially since not all rooms were furnished. Some classrooms were still under construction and equipment was yet to to be delivered. Not all faculty members had arrived. However, at 10 o’clock on September 27, students, faculty, trustees and townspeople, including local dignitaries, gathered in the chapel for an informal program of Scripture, prayer, “brief, bright, impromptu talks” and hymns. The gathering ended with the singing of “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.” Following this long-awaited and emotional beginning began the practical work of classifying students for coursework (examining them in English, Latin, Mathematics and History), finding sleeping accommodations and organizing classrooms.
The Main Administration Building as it appeared on a postcard.
A collage of photographs of the first faculty of the Baptist Female University, 1899-1900. President James C. Blasingame is at center. Art instructor Ida Poteat is at the top left and physician Dr. Delia Dixon (later Dixon-Carroll) is at center right.
The cover of the college's first catalog.
Pages 22-23 of the first catalog listing some basic information for students planning to attend.
Shortly after the college's opening, it consisted of the Main Building, Faircloth Hall and East Building, along with a basketball court, tennis court and an calisthenics/gymnastics area. All of this was on a area of less than 4 acres. By 1901, the college had acquired two more buildings for housing, the Barkley and the Crow buildings.
Carlyle Campbell Library
Meredith College
3800 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
919-760-8532
