BINGHAM SCHOOL (MEBANE LOCATION)

The barracks/dormitories were built in mid-1882 [1]. T.C. Oakley of Durham was the contractor [2]. They replaced several log structures that had been used as dorms and classrooms [3].

They were described as "carefully constructed by Mrs. Wm. Bingham, at great cost, and were expressly designed for safety, comfort, health, free ventilation, lighting, heating, and freedom from dampness" [4].

A 1905 description of them is "The dormitories are in eight sections, with six rooms to each section.Three of these sections are on the east side and three on the west of a rectangular court, of which the main school building forms the north side" [5].

Each section of was described as "one story high and one room deep, metal-roofed and having fire-proof brick walls at each end...with brick foundation pillars two feet above ground." Each room measured 16 feet by 16 feet "with door opening on the veranda, transom above, window opposite, and open fire-place..." [6. Each room was "furnished with new iron beds and springs, mattresses, table, wash-stand and book rack" [7].

 

The court between the barracks was described as "336 feet long and more than 104 feet broad, divided by gravel walks into plats of smooth green glass, and well shaded by poplar and maple trees" [8].

 

Remnants of the barracks can be viewed in the 1955 aerial photograph of the area, but they have since been demolished and/or fallen down from neglect.

 

 

View north, circa 1905

 

View north, circa 1908 postcard

 

Exercising adjacent to the barracks, circa 1909

 

View north east, circa 1905

 

ENDNOTES:

[1] The Alamance Gleaner, Jun 22, 1882 (via Phil Mace)

[2] Ibid

[3] Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina. Department of Public Instruction, 1898. 157

[4] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1904-1905

[5] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1908-1909

[6] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1904-1905; The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1908-1909

[7] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1908-1909

[8] Ibid

This structure was built in mid-1882 [1]. T.C. Oakley of Durham was the contractor [2]. It was the school president's home.

An addition to the rear of the structure was moved east of Mebane in 1943 [3]. Midlawn was demolished in the 1970s.

Circa 1905

Circa 1909

Midlawn in the background, 1909

View north, 1972

View ?, 1972

Exterior, architectural details, 1972

Front door, 1972

Architectural details, 1972

Interior, main stairs, 1972

Interior, architectural details, 1972

Interior, architectural details, 1972

(The photos from 1972 are from The Alamance Gleaner, via Phil Mace. The earlier photos are from the Bingham School catalogs of 1904-1905 and 1908-1909.)

[1] The Alamance Gleaner, June 22, 1882 (via Phil Mace)

[2] Ibid

[3] Mebane Presbyterian Church News, Vol. X, No. 1, December 1944. Pp. 3-4.

This building has been described as the library and/or the "Old Bingham School Kitchen" from the nearby Bingham School [1]; looking at photos of the school, it appears that it was a rear addition to "Midlawn," which was the school's president's house (a.k.a the Bingham House). The structure appears to have been built sometime between 1885 and 1900.

In August 1943, Norman and Besie Wood conveyed this property/lot to the trustees of Mebane Presbyterian Church [2]. The church then purchased the structure from the Dorsett family [3]. On December 2, 1943, the structure was moved from its original location at the Bingham School to this lot, and was used as the East Mebane Presbyterian's Sunday School building [4].

Part of the rear "ell" of the structure was the original Sunday School building, which the church had outgrown. The structure was later (by the 1950s) used for prayer meetings [5].

The structure in its original location at the Bingham School, circa 1905 (indicated by red arrow)

(All the above photos were via Phil Mace, via Peter Sandbeck/OCDEAPR)

ENDNOTES: