Monroe’s Ties to a Lost Black University

I am just recently hearing about a private school for African-Americans that was here in the 1890’s and the early 1900’s. To call out my own biases, I thought that Wisner Colored High School was the only school for African Americans during this time period. I knew of at least one small private school, but never any other. This is a murky part of our past. Only a handful of Monroe papers exist for this time period, and this new private school was for African-American students. White state papers very rarely reported on black schools. The school was called, North Louisiana Industrial High School and sometimes the Monroe Academy. It appears they were two names for one school. I think, using indirect evidence, the school started around 1895 and in 1898 Leland University stepped in and made it an affiliate. Never heard of Leland? That is because it closed for good in 1960. It was a very prestigious college in it’s day and was the oldest college for African Americans in the state, even older than Southern! The college opened in New Orleans around 1871 near where Tulane is today. Pressure from the encroaching white community on St. Charles Avenue and a disastrous hurricane in 1915 finally made the university move it’s campus to Baker, LA, where it finally closed it’s doors in 1960. All that remains of the Baker campus are a few crumbling walls.

In the 1890’s, Leland decided to partner with state schools and supply them with funding and teachers. The stipulations for each school were: the property had to be worth at least $2000 and taxes, insurance, upkeep and all incidentals be paid and kept up by the trustees of the school. Tuition of $1 per month, per student was to be paid to Leland. Leland would provide the curriculum and all teachers would be appointed and paid by the University. Once students graduated from the affiliate schools, they would be accepted into the University without having to be tested. The top two graduating students even got a discount on their tuition!

You can read about Leland and their affiliate program here: https://hbcudigitallibrary.auctr.edu/digital/collection/suam/id/1409 . Start on page 7. The Monroe Academy information begins on page 8.

Several months back, I posted a clipping showing a turn of the century Monroe school, where the principal was identified as Mr. W.M. Pruitt. The above book states he was affiliated with the school. His wife Loretta, it was stated, was the first woman to receive an A.B. degree from Leland University, class of 1898! She was the daughter of Richmond Dunn, founder of a very prominent family in Ouachita parish. You can find photos of the Pruitts on Ancestry in some of their family trees that are listed. Loretta has a Find a Grave memorial with her photo on it here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7926463/pru . I made one for Professor Pruitt as well, which is linked to hers. I also found a picture of Professor Pruitt’s stone in Magnolia here: https://louisianagravestones.org/view.php?id=301514 . It makes me sad that it is broken and he has been forgotten.

Other principals listed for the school were Rev. J.L. Crossley (1904-5) and Professor Madison J. Foster took over in 1906, both Leland graduates. I find references to the Industrial High School in several state papers and they give a little more information. In the New Orleans Times-Democrat of October 12, 1895, Dr. S.J. Clanton, a graduate of New Orleans University and the Divinity School of Chicago University is listed as “…elected president of the institution.” When Professor Foster took over Wisner school in 1930, it appears one of his Associate Principals, Mrs. Henrietta Windham Johnston took over the principalship. A local recreation center was named for her, which I have posted about before.

I found a description of the school in the Lafourche Comet out of Thibodaux, LA, January 9, 1896:

The North Louisiana Industrial High School opened Monday, Jan. 6. It is located in Monroe for the industrial, literary and scientific education of the colored youths. It closed a successful term at the holidays, with an enrollment of 120. There was a very large increase of attendance on reopening. The citizens of Monroe and of Ouachita parish are deeply interested in the success and work of this institution for the negroes of that part of the State. The pupils are eager, earnest and studious, and the school, on the whole, is well located, and is destined to do a large educational and industrial service for the colored people between the Ouachita and the Mississippi rivers in Louisiana, above Vicksburg, Miss. Dr. S.J. Clanton, of Monroe, is the efficient principal. He and his associates in the work are greatly encouraged by the liberal help and sympathy of the best citizens of Monroe and vicinity.

Later that year, the Shreveport Times (October 3, 1896) wrote:

Special to the Times.
Monroe, La., Oct. 2. – The third term of the North Louisiana Industrial High school (colored) will begin Monday, October 5th.
Its industrial, academic, normal and scientific courses and pastor’s, English, and woman’s missionary training and night school welcomes those of ever faith to its advantages. The aim is to build character.
Rev. Wm. Hamilton says his church and congregation and the work done by them for suffering humanity all speak for themselves and that their aim to urge the advancement and education of their race, is their chief delight. He has secured an appropriation from the colored convention which convened at New Iberia and has also placed the great needs before the home mission and educational boards at New York city, and the national educational board, while in sesison [sic] at St. Louis, from which he expects favorable consideration. he further states that the colored people have their eyes turned toward Monroe, educationally speaking, from the banks of the Mississippi river to the banks of Red river, and seem to be very hopeful and still pray the encouragement of the white people of this city.

The Times of October 9, 1896 stated that a new principal had taken over: Prof. Felix A. Curthright. The Times also reported the next month (Nov. 17, 1896) that Prof. Curtright (notice a different spelling?) called a meeting of the teachers and they organized a “colored teacher’s institute”.

I don’t see a mention of the school in the white papers again until 1902. The New Orleans Times-Democrat reported in the May 26, 1902 paper:

The seventh annual commencement of the North Louisiana Industrial High School, colored, was begun to-day, when Rev. Wm. Hamilton, president of the Board of Trustees, delivered the annual sermon in Zion Traveler Baptist Church. The exercises will continue for two days. There are no graduates.
This school, which was organized under the auspices of the Tenth District Baptist Association, aimed to give the colored children a higher education than they could receive in the public school, and also to give them manual training. The former idea has been carried out in the last seven years, but as to the latter, the only occupation taught is sewing. During the closing term there have been 167 pupils, 75 of whom were boys. The monthly tuition fee is 75 cents for the primary, and $1 for the academic department. Wm. Pruitt, B.S., is the principal, and there are eight teachers. There is also a normal course.
Considering the fact that there is a very largely attended public school and three private schools in Monroe for the colored children, the attendance at this institution is encouraging.

The News-Star of January 30, 1911 reported that at $1000 mortgage of the school property had finally been paid off by the Tenth District Baptist Association. In the May 22, 1915 News-Star, there was talk about building a new Industrial School, as the current property was way too small. (The 1000 block of Texas Avenue).

Whew! That is a lot to take in! This appears to be a private school funded by student tuition. I also just recently found out after reading an interview with him, Mr. Joseph Sharp graduated from this school in 1929! FASCINATING! I found a list of faculty and students of this school, which I will put in my next post!