By William “Skip” Deegans
Shown is an engraving of the architect’s rendering of the proposed Carnegie Hall for the Lewisburg Female Institute (LFI). The Georgian Revival building was designed by Charles Barrett, a partner in the Raleigh, North Carolina, architectural firm of Barrett & Thomson. The building was completed in 1902, and the dedication for took place on June 8, 1903 with Dr. George H. Denny, president of Washington & Lee University, giving the address. Music was provided by the Stonewall Band of Staunton. In the basement were a gymnasium, bowling alley, music rooms and toilets. On the main floor was the auditorium that could seat 800-1,000. Two “elegant” classrooms were in the two wings. There were six classrooms on the second floor, and the art room and society hall occupied the third floor. A covered walkway connected the building to a newly-constructed dormitory.
Although Barrett was a prominent architect who was well known for his designs of southern colonial homes built in the Carolinas and Georgia, Carnegie Hall was not his first educational project. At the turn of the 19th century, North Carolina was moving forward in developing public education. In 1900, Charles B. Aycock, a former teacher, won North Carolina’s gubernatorial race campaigning, in part, on the controversial issue of public education. In 1903, Barrett and Thomson were commissioned by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to produce “Plans for Public School Houses.” The framed school buildings they designed were an incorporation of late Victorian and colonial revival elements and had a flair unlike other school houses in the south at the time. One of the school houses, the former Grandy School in Currituck County was built for the 1909 school term, still stands, and is listed on the National Register of Historical Buildings. Also still standing and now a museum is the Jarrisburg School for African American students. Built in 1903 with assistance from Currituck County, it replaced a school that had been built on a land grant owned by a former slave.
Sources: Greenbrier Independent, Hinton Daily News, North Carolina State University, National Park Service.
