Southland College
TypeNormal School
Active1876 (1876)–1925
FounderAlida & Calvin Clark
Parent institution
Indiana Yearly Meeting
Religious affiliation
Quaker
Location
Helena, Arkansas
,
Arkansas

34°35′57″N 90°41′15″W / 34.599265°N 90.687607°W / 34.599265; -90.687607
CampusRural, 167 acres (68 ha)

Southland College, originally the Helena Orphan Asylum and eventually Southland Institute, was established in Helena, Arkansas for orphaned African American children[1] April 19, 1864 by Indiana Quakers Alida[2] and Calvin Clark and supported by various Quakers over several decades.[3][1][4] Established as an orphanage called the Helena Orphan Asylum within Helena,[4] the original request for the creation of an orphanage had come from General N. B. Buford who was the Federal Commandant at Helena during the civil war.[5]

In 1866, it was relocated further north in Phillips County, almost 4 miles east of Lexa, Arkansas.[4][6] Each officer and private soldier of the 56th U.S. Colored Infantry, at the suggestion of Colonel Carl "Charles" Bentzoni, donated a days pay so that the new site could be purchased for the college.[6] Not long after an additional adjoining fifty acres was purchased by the Quakers to expand the site of the college.[5] Over the subsequent years the site was expanded to around 167 acres.[5]

In 1876, twelve years after its inception, it became Southland College and began to issue diplomas.[5] The first three students to obtain their diplomas were Chandler Paschal, Emma Lancaster and Jerry Cross.[5]

Although created for black children it was not until 1880 that the college employed its first black teachers, who were alumni of the college.[5]

An official from the school sued E. A. Fulton and editor Julian T. Bailey[7] of The Sun newspaper in Little Rock[8] for libel in 1885.[9]

George W. Bell was one of those who served as its president as well as a professor,[10] and had been a student at Southland himself before going on to graduate from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.[11]

Over the years of the college, hundreds graduated as teachers including Anna String who after graduating in 1903 had a career that included her becoming president of the Arkansas State Teachers Association as well as receiving many honors.[4] At its height in 1917 the enrolment had reached 500 students,[4] although in its final year of 1925 that had shrunk to 130.[11]

It closed in 1925 after several name changes and ongoing financial problems.[4] After the closure by the Quakers, the college was briefly run by the Masons and then the AME Zions.[5]

A series of private and parochial schools for African Americans succeeded it in Helena including a Peabody School and St. Cyprian's Day School.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Southland College". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  2. ↑ "Alida Clawson Clark (1823-1892)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  3. ↑ "A History of Southland College". University of Arkansas Press. Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Southland College Digital Exhibit". digitalcollections.uark.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Marianna Courier Index Archives, Dec 14, 1989, p. 12". NewspaperArchive.com. 1989-12-14. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 28 June 2021.Open access icon
  6. 1 2 "School For Negroes". Newport Daily Independent, Newport, Arkansas. newspaperarchive.com. March 3, 1914. p. 2. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.Open access icon
  7. ↑ "Prof. Julian T. Bailey, Editor The Littlie Rock Sun, the Hot Springs Sun and the Texarkana Sun, ( Texas,)". The Afro Texan Press. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  8. ↑ "Ayer Directory of Publications". Ayer Press. June 28, 1885. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ "E. A. Fulton". Daily Arkansas Gazette. July 31, 1885. p. 8. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ The Higher Learning Commission. "Arkansas African American Legislators, 1868-1893". Magale Library. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  11. 1 2 Kennedy, Thomas C. (1983). "Southland College: The Society of Friends and Black Education in Arkansas". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 42 (3): 207–238. doi:10.2307/40030759. JSTOR 40030759. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  12. ↑ Hope, Holly (14 April 2018). "Walks through History - Columbia Street, Historic Helena" (PDF). Arkansasheritage.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.

Further reading

  • Kennedy, Thomas C. "Southland College: The Society of Friends and Black Education in Arkansas." Arkansas Historical Quarterly 42.3 (1983): 207-238. online

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