|
in late 1859 and 1860 .
THE VISION OF AN INTERRACIAL COMMUNITY
After the Civil War , the Fees and some other exiles returned to Berea to reestablish their vision of an interracial school and community . In January 1866 , the Berea Literary Institute opened its doors . Despite predictions that the admissions of blacks would destroy the school , the founders of Berea were able to achieve their vision to a large degree during the last half of the 19th century . By 1889 the total enrollment was approximately 450 students in primary , secondary and college departments . Large numbers of former slaves moved to Berea because of the opportunity that the community provided . Berea recruited black students ; Union Church welcomed blacks into the congregation ; new jobs were available ; and the college sold town lots on the condition that families live next to families of a different race . Maps from this period show that black residences were indeed interspersed among white throughout the town .
The former slaves took advantage of the opportunities they had . A large number of black graduates went on to distinguished careers throughout the country . The 1900 census cited 12.8 % of all Madison County farms as blackowned , compared to
|
4.8 % statewide ; most of these were in the area surrounding Berea . This census also showed that most black men outside of town were farm owners , and that black women in the area were domestics .
The achievements of this noble vision made the subsequent events all the more tragic . In 1904 , the Kentucky Legislature passed the Day Law forbidding interracial education , and the Berea College chose to focus on the education of mountain whites . Disillusioned and frustrated by the lack of educational and economic opportunities they once had . Most blacks moved away , and Berea became a segregated town .
THE EMERGING TOWN
As Berea College grew , a community surrounding it quickly sprang up and the college appointed a prudential committee to look after the affairs of the newly developed town . The laid out streets and sold lots , established a fire department , dug a public well and subscribed to have the railroad and public roads come through the town .
The growth of population and development of transportation created new economic opportunities . Merchants and tradesmen set up stores and shops . Farmers in the surrounding countryside came to the new town to buy and sell goods . The surrounding hills contained a wealth of timber , which passed
|
through Berea on its way to other markets . Berea became in the words of one contemporary “ a college and lumber mill town ungainly sprawled along the ridge .” Within a few years many residents were firmly established in Berea with a significant investment in the town ’ s stability and predictability of its leadership .
In the spring of 1890 , the retirement of President Fairchild and selection of a new college president , William Stewart , created concern that the affairs of the town would be controlled by a man from outside the community . Using the strong political connections of Berea College Professor Le Vant Dodge , a group of Berea leaders acquired a city charter in a remarkably short period of time . On April 4 , 1890 the town incorporated , and the affairs of town and college were separated for the first time .
BEREA AND THE CRAFTS REVIVAL
In the 1890 ’ s , there was a growing national interest in the culture and traditions of Appalachia by local color writers , academics , missionaries and teachers . These people were fascinated by richness and traditional Western European culture which still existed in the mountains , but they were also dismayed by the apparent isolation , poverty and depravation . Berea College President William Frost ’ s own phrase “ our contemporary ancestors ”
|
reflects American ’ s ambivalent feelings toward Appalachian people .
On his fundraising trips to the North , Frost took traditional Appalachian overshot coverlets to illustrate his presentations on mountain people and the college ’ s mission . These coverlets had been produced in the North during colonial times , and they had great emotional appeal in the years just following the national centennial . Also the writings of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement in England were generating interest in the revival of crafts in America .
Perceiving that there was a national market for coverlets and other traditional crafts , Frost established the Berea College Fireside Industries to market crafts made by people at home . He also encouraged craftspeople to move to Berea to better market their crafts . In quick succession , the college built a loom house , hired a supervisor to train and maintain quality , and then established the Student Craft Industries . Frost hoped that the production of crafts would enable mountain people to earn an income and still hold on to their traditional lifestyle .
Although this vision was never realized , Berea did become , along with Asheville , North Carolina , the center of the American Crafts Revival in the first part of this century .
|