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SCHOOL DAYS
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Photos from the Archives
Chicago Missionary Society
Collection
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Visit Us
In Person or Online!
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Give the Gift of to Someone Special or to Yourself! Call 617-523-0470 ext. 230 or email info@14beacon.org for more info | | |
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Back to School
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Star, North Carolina population around 800 is situated smack in the middle of the Tar Heel state. Who would have guessed that a Christian school, backed by the Congregational Church,
and led by Dr. Edward F. Green, would have existed there in the early 1900's? This interesting story came to our attention when we opened a folder at the request of a patron who was working on the history of the school. Like many of our friends, he found us online and requested that we provide him with whatever information we had in our archives.
The Carolina Collegiate and Agricultural Institute
housed classrooms, a dormitory, industrial arts buildings, maintenance shops, and 40 acres of fields and pastureland. The Institute generated interest from northern families one of whom donated an extensive library to the school. In 1919 the school was turned over to the Congregational Education Society and renamed The Country Life Academy. Recognized as one of the best preparatory schools in North Carolina, the school flourished into the 1930's when it finally closed its doors due to the emergence of public schools in rural North Carolina.
The school was sold to a hosiery mill during a time when manufacturing was booming in the south, particularly in North Carolina. For over 50 years the Russell Hosiery Mill operated a plant which employed hundreds of North Carolinians. The plant closed in the 1990s as manufacturing jobs were outsourced overseas.
Now here is where the story comes full circle. Today, STARworks Center for Creative Enterprises is reviving the old school in an effort to teach and train students interested in the arts, agriculture, and alternative energy. Artists skilled in pottery, painting, glassblowing and other crafts are flocking to the area which is a haven for the arts community. A recent study showed that nearly 4% of employment in North Carolina includes creative workers who generate close to $4 billion in wages. So the "school" is making its way back to its roots educating and training artisans who are interested in applying their unique skills and talents to provide a sustainable economy for a place they are proud to call home.
 | STARworks proposed facade
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History Matters Uncovers The Past
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In celebration of Charter Day 2014, the Library and Archives teamed up on September 10th with the Partnership of the Historic Bostons. A record number of visitors attended the animated presentation by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation archaeologist, Ellen Berkland. In The Things They Left Behind, former City of Boston archaeologist spoke about racing against the bulldozers and the clock as the Central Artery Project (1991-2006) tore down an elevated highway and excavated a tunnel system that transformed sections of this historic city. Under layers of earth, Berkland's team uncovered remains of the oldest tavern in America. Owned by a Mary Long in Charlestown, over the years it had several adjacent privies that proved to be a treasure trove of artifacts and substances of interest to recreational historians (gaming pieces) to archaeoentomologists (live insects). Berkland told the stories of Colonial families and individuals, laws and customs that emerge from the things they left behind. Learn more about big dig archaeology by visiting partnership for Historic Bostons.
http://www.historicbostons.com/
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