The principals of the school while at this location were William Bingham, Jr., 1864-1873; Robert Bingham and Owen Bingham, 1873-1891; Herbert Bingham circa 1892-1896; Mary Stuart, 1896-189?; Preston L. Gray, 189?-190?.
From the January 30, 1865 Daily Confederate newspaper (Raleigh)

BINGHAM SCHOOL GATE / BRICK COLUMNS
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- BINGHAM SCHOOL (MEBANE LOCATION) by SteveR, Wed, 01/11/2023 - 3:51pm
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- Sun, 02/05/2023 - 5:37pm by SteveR
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This brick entrance gate to Bingham School was built sometime between 1873 and 1885 [1]. It originally held a wooden gate, with split-rail fencing along each side of it [2].
In the school's catalog for 1908-1909, it is mentioned that: "...the trains stop at the School gate. Here the boys are met, welcomed and made to feel at home" [3].
1972
View south (S. Rankin, 2018)
View north; the school would have been in the distance (S. Rankin, 2018)
View west (S. Rankin, 2018)
View south-east (S. Rankin, 2018)
ENDNOTES
[1] No money was spent by the Binghams on new construction until 1873, and the gate is shown in an 1885 diagram of the school campus
[2] The Alamance Gleaner, June 22, 1882 (via Phil Mace)
[3] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1908-1909
(NOTE: I would like to thank David Southern for pointing these columns out to me many, many years ago.)
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BELGROVE
Part of the Bigham School complex
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- BINGHAM SCHOOL (MEBANE LOCATION) by SteveR, Wed, 01/11/2023 - 3:51pm
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- Sun, 02/05/2023 - 5:39pm by SteveR
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"Belgrove" was part of the Bigham School complex, and stood at the entrance to the campus [1]. It was used as the superintendent's house [2], the school's principal's house [3], and later by the music department and as offices [4].
It was demolished by 1933.
From the 1905-1906 school catalog
From the 1909-1910 school catalog
ENDNOTES
[1] As depicted on the 1885 diagram of the school campus
[2] Ibid
[3] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1905-1906
[4] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1909-1910
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BINGHAM SCHOOL BARRACKS / DORMITORIES
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- BINGHAM SCHOOL (MEBANE LOCATION) by SteveR, Wed, 01/11/2023 - 3:51pm
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- Sun, 02/05/2023 - 5:36pm by SteveR
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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].




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
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BINGHAM HOUSE / MIDLAWN
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- BINGHAM SCHOOL (MEBANE LOCATION) by SteveR, Wed, 01/11/2023 - 3:51pm
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- Sun, 02/05/2023 - 5:38pm by SteveR
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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.)
ENDNOTES:
[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.
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6510 US 70 W. / EAST MEBANE PRESBYTERIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL
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- BINGHAM SCHOOL (MEBANE LOCATION) by SteveR, Wed, 01/11/2023 - 3:51pm
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- Sun, 02/05/2023 - 5:39pm by SteveR
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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:
[1] Phil Mace, personal communication
[2] Orange County deed book 118, page 187.5
[3] From the Mebane Presbyterian Church archives, via Phil Mace
[4] Phil Mace, personal communication
[5] Mebane Presbyterian Church News, Vol. X, No. 1, December 1944. Pp. 3-4.
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No comments yet. Used as housing by visiting parents, guardians, and/or faculty of the Bingham School. Mr. Lindon Chandler occupied the structure in the early 1900s [1]. It was built sometime between 1882 and 1905. Circa 1905 THE COTTAGE (BINGHAM SCHOOL)
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ENDNOTES
[1] The Bingham School, Catalogue for Session 1905-1906
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ENDNOTES
[1] William S. Powell (ed.). The Encyclopedia of North Carolina.
[2] Journal of the Senate of the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina at its Session of 1864-'65. Raleigh: Wm. E. Pell, 1866; Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina. Department of Public Instruction, 1898. 150. Supreme Court of North Carolina. Bingham School vs. P. L. Gray et al. February term, 1898; Robert I. Curtis, The Bingham School and Classical Education in North Carolina, 1793-1873, North Carolina Historical Review (July 1996): 352. Bingham, Lynch, and White received a charter for 30 years, which took effect March 1, 1865.
[3] Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina. Department of Public Instruction, 1898. 151; The Daily Confederate, January 30, 1865. (Raleigh, NC)
[4] Ibid, 157; Supreme Court of North Carolina. Bingham School vs. P. L. Gray et al. February term, 1898. Pp93-94; Phil Mace, personal communication. William and Robert Bingham attempted to purchase the former Hillsborough Military Academy campus from Charles Tew's widow, but she was unwilling to sell the property.
[5] Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina. Department of Public Instruction, 1898. 151; Charles Lee Smith. The History of Education in North Carolina, Contributions to American Educational History No. 3, 1888, No. 2
[6] Orange County deed book 39, page 166; book 39, page 170; Phil Mace, personal communication
[7] Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina. Department of Public Instruction, 1898. 157
[8] Ibid, 158
[9] Ibid, 157, 158
[10] Ibid, 158
[11] The Alamance Gleaner, June 22, 1882 (via Phil Mace)
[12] The Orange County Observer, August 23, 1884
[13] Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina. Department of Public Instruction, 1898. 159.
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