Talledega College Materials Collection

Collection

Identifier: 1259

Staff Only

This collection contains four letters written by Cynthia M. Hopson, instructor at the Talladega school, precursor to Talladega College. Hopson taught at the Talladega school in its initial schoolhouse, and later at the Swayne school when it relocated in 1867. In her letters, Hopson describes the overwhelming number of students and their speed at learning, and gives praise to the young freedman who assisted her in the classroom. She requests that additional teachers be sent, and also describes the prejudice against the school and difficulties she faced finding a place to board in the white community.

Also present are four publications produced during the first forty years of Talladega College: an 1871-1872 college catalogue; a copy of the school newspaper, The Southern Sentinel, Vol. 1, No. 2, October 1877; an illustrated pamphlet, circa the 1880s, describing the school and its history; and a 1904-1905 student handbook.

Dates

1866-1904

Creator

Talladega College (Organization)

Access restrictions as stated in gift agreement

This collection is open for research without restrictions.

Historical Sketch

Talladega College is Alabama's oldest private historically black college. In 1865, Talladega freedmen organized an educational society to provide instruction to the children of freed slaves. Their school held its first lessons in a two-room private residence, and the large number of students led the society to construct the first schoolhouse for blacks in Talladega County soon afterwards. Following a petition to the Freedmen's Bureau for a qualified teacher, the Cleveland Freedmen's Aid Commission sent Cynthia M. Hopson, of Hudson, Ohio, to instruct at the school.

The number of students remained overwhelming, and with ambitions of providing college education in addition to primary education, the educational society sought to purchase a nearby Baptist academy, used as a prison during the Civil War. The Freedmen's Bureau and the American Missionary Association (AMA), a private philanthropic organization, purchased the property. The school, dubbed the Swayne School after General Wager Swayne, assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau in Alabama, opened in November 1867 with a class of 140 students.

Talladega County issued an official charter and formally incorporated Talladega College on February 17, 1869. Instruction focused on primary education and normal education, or the training of teachers. Over time, the school began to include collegiate courses, and granted the first degrees to students in 1895. The college also continued to offer elementary and secondary education until 1948.

Sources:

Jones, Maxine D. and Joe M. Richardson. Talladega College: The First Century. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1990.

Gary, Shannon. "Talladega College." Encyclopedia of Alabama. August 8, 2009; http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2405 (accessed April 4, 2019).