State to unveil historical marker at Allen School site
Ceremony and reception will commemorate legacy of academic excellence in the era of segregation
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 17, 2023
The Allen School, depicted in this early 20th century postcard, operated in Asheville from 1887-1974. A ceremony unveiling an N.C. Highway Historical Marker recognizing the institution, which offered college preparatory courses for African American women, will be held, Oct. 21. Image courtesy of Mary Standaert/Standaert Collection
For nearly a century, from the late 19th century through the first half of the 1970s, the first home missionary school dedicated to educating African American students west of the Blue Ridge Mountains stood as a beacon of hope for more than 1,000 Black women from Buncombe County and beyond.
That legacy will be commemorated, beginning at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21, with the unveiling of an N.C. Highway Historical Marker in downtown Asheville. The silver sign embellished with black lettering, one of at least 1,600 such installations in the state, will be erected on College Street, near the office of the Buncombe County Register of Deeds.
The event will open with a dedication ceremony, recognizing the school's efforts to offer college preparatory courses to African American women from its founding in 1887 until the facility’s closure in 1974. The Allen School, founded by Quakers, Methodists and Black and White citizens, produced a range of notable alumni, including Tryon native Nina Simone, known by her birth name Eunice Kathleen Waymon while attending the school, and Dr. Christine Mann Darden, recognized as the first African American woman to work for NASA, and highlighted in the 2016 Margot Lee Shetterly book, Hidden Figures.
A reception, hosted by Explore Asheville, which is located in the building that housed the Allen School in the 1950s, will follow the unveiling.
The application process for a state historical marker recognizing the school was the result of a collaborative initiative between Allen graduate and author Ann Miller Woodford; Black Mountain native and author Mary Othella Burnette, who graduated from the school in 1949, and Montreat resident Mary Standaert.
“I read Mary Othella Burnette’s ‘Lige of the Black Walnut Tree: Growing up Black in Southern Appalachia,’ and in that book she briefly mentions the Allen School,” Standaert said. “She had previously reached out my husband Joe, before the book was published, asking for some photographs. She didn’t use any of the photos provided, but she sent us a thank you note when it was published.”
The two began corresponding regularly when Standaert replied to Burnette’s letter.
“People are familiar with the Stephens-Lee, which was a segregated public school for African American students in Buncombe County,” Standaert said. “Many have also heard stories of the YMI and ‘Black Wall Street’ in Asheville, but not many know about the Allen School. It became apparent that there needed to be a permanent historical marker there.”
Standaert, and her husband Joe, developed an interest in WNC history when the couple began collecting vintage postcards of the region two decades ago. They published Buncombe County Name Game: Their “pandemic project,” Buncombe County Name Game, was self-published in 2021.
As she began researching the Allen School and talking to former students, Standaert was intrigued by the information she uncovered.
“The administrators and staff were Black and White, in the midst of the Jim Crow South,” she said. “They were living and working together, within a five-minute walk of the Buncombe County courthouse and Asheville City Hall. I think it’s a remarkable piece of history that needs to be remembered.”
The school offered hope to young Black women who aspired to pursue a higher education, according to Burnette.
“I was a senior and Allen was the only high school near Black Mountain that accepted African American students and offered college preparatory courses,” she said. “In addition, Allen was the first school I had attended since seventh grade that made me feel I belonged. Previously, I had been a new student at a large integrated school somewhere. I had a rural southern background and a deep Southern accent which set me apart and made it difficult to meet friends. The White teachers, however, were kind.”
The cultural impact of her time at the school was significant, she continued.
“It was the Allen School that offered my first Black History course, from a textbook written by a Black author,” Burnette said. “The outstanding event was a visit and reading by Langston Hughes. That was my introduction to African American poetry and other literature, which I devoured as an English major in college.”
The school, which was initially known as the Industrial School on College Street and offered day and boarding school educational experiences, was accredited by the state in 1924 and earned accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1940.
“History is important, and this is a story that needs to be told and remembered,” Standaert said. “This is really a story of segregation and integration in our community, and I’m not aware of any others that parallel the story of the Allen School.”
The unveiling of the N.C. Highway Historical Marker will recognize the Allen School’s cultural and academic contributions to the region.
“Allen’s Marker is well deserved,” Burnette said. “I am truly grateful for it.”