Agenda - 03-03-2011 - 6c - Laserfiche WebLink

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32 I . 6 4-4 Historical Overview — Murphey School 9 -8 -09 The school and teacherage were accepted into the National Register of Historic Places in September of 109 and the narrative for that nomination contain the best material concerning the Significance of the property as well as the Architectural Description. It also goes into the Historical overview but I want to provide some additional information I am gathering from some of the former students as well as my own research, which continues to take place as I am renovating the property. Some of the work that led to the nomination uncovered some interesting information, such as the fact that the Auditorium was added as a WPA Government project in 1935. The narrative also goes into detail about the history of public schools in North Carolina, and the tremendous increase in funding and support that begins around the time of the construction of the Murphey School. One of the most interesting things I am finding about pertains to performances held at the Murphey School Auditorium outside of regular school hours. Apparently this venue was the host of many dances and musical performances by artists traveling through the area. I have yet to find definitive proof but have been told my more than one of the elderly locals that among musicians that have performed there are famous country artists such as Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe, Hank Snow and Roy Acuff. I am in the process of trying to formally confirm what I have been told by making visits to the NC Southern Folklore Archives at ZINC in my spare time. In a recent visit to the UNC archives I came across a collection of Blackwood family papers, which included members of the family living in University, N.C., which is what an area very close to the school was called for some time. I discovered that Mattie Blackwood was a music teacher at Murphey School in the late 1920's and have a copy of a letter where she describes her classroom and teaching, and she may have lived in the Teacherage during that time because she refers to the Dormitory where she lives. It is interesting to note that during that time in 1929 there were 190 students total. Of that total, 36 took music lessons on a regular basis and all students were exposed to some music as a part of the curriculum. I am continuing to search for more information that will continue to lend to the historical overview. During my renovation of the teacherage I found a cache of period textbooks that I plan to include as a part of a permanent display in the hallway of the old school. These books give a fascinating look at the types of subjects taught at the school, as well as some of the outdated material that was accepted as fact of that era.