Elizabeth College, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth College was a private
Lutheran
women's college
in Charlotte
, North Carolina
and Salem
, Virginia
that operated between 1896 and 1922.
Elizabeth, named after the wife of the earliest sponsor, was originally located in Charlotte where it operated alongside the Gerard Conservatory of Music. The college moved to Salem in 1915, when it absorbed Roanoke Women's College, a Lutheran women's college founded in Salem in 1912. The merger was arranged by Elizabeth's president, Dr. Charles B. King, who had fond memories of his education at Roanoke College
, a Lutheran men's college
, in Salem.
Although it was a general liberal arts college
, Elizabeth emphasized music
. The college was Victorian
in nature, though the women attending did have a basketball
team. The students socialized primarily with the students from nearby Roanoke College
, then all-male. It was known as Dear Old Betsy by its students, some of whom came from as far as Indiana
.
The campus burned under suspicious circumstances in December 1921. Elizabeth students finished the spring term
at Roanoke College before their own institution closed for good in 1922. Even though it was all-male (Roanoke College did not become coeducational until 1930), Roanoke adopted Elizabeth's alumnae and holds their records.
In Charlotte, the original college campus was used for the Presbyterian Hospital until 1980, when the buildings were razed. A placard outside the hospital recognized the land's former occupants. In Salem, the land was given to the Lutheran Children's Home of the South, an orphanage that operated from 1927 until the 1980s using several large brick buildings constructed after the Elizabeth fire. Roanoke College purchased the area in 1984; renamed "Elizabeth campus", two miles from Roanoke's main campus, it is the site of athletic fields and residence halls.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
women's college
Women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States are single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that exclude or limit males from admission. They are often liberal arts colleges...
in Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Salem
Salem, Virginia
Salem is an independent city in Virginia, USA, bordered by the city of Roanoke to the east but otherwise adjacent to Roanoke County. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 24,802 according to 2010 U.S. Census...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
that operated between 1896 and 1922.
Elizabeth, named after the wife of the earliest sponsor, was originally located in Charlotte where it operated alongside the Gerard Conservatory of Music. The college moved to Salem in 1915, when it absorbed Roanoke Women's College, a Lutheran women's college founded in Salem in 1912. The merger was arranged by Elizabeth's president, Dr. Charles B. King, who had fond memories of his education at Roanoke College
Roanoke College
Roanoke College is an private, coeducational, four-year liberal-arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college is located in Salem, Virginia, a suburban independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia...
, a Lutheran men's college
Men's college
Men's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions whose students are exclusively men. Many are liberal arts colleges.-United States:...
, in Salem.
Although it was a general liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
, Elizabeth emphasized music
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
. The college was Victorian
Victorian morality
Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria's reign and of the moral climate of the United Kingdom throughout the 19th century in general, which contrasted greatly with the morality of the previous Georgian period...
in nature, though the women attending did have a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team. The students socialized primarily with the students from nearby Roanoke College
Roanoke College
Roanoke College is an private, coeducational, four-year liberal-arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college is located in Salem, Virginia, a suburban independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia...
, then all-male. It was known as Dear Old Betsy by its students, some of whom came from as far as Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
The campus burned under suspicious circumstances in December 1921. Elizabeth students finished the spring term
Academic term
An academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...
at Roanoke College before their own institution closed for good in 1922. Even though it was all-male (Roanoke College did not become coeducational until 1930), Roanoke adopted Elizabeth's alumnae and holds their records.
In Charlotte, the original college campus was used for the Presbyterian Hospital until 1980, when the buildings were razed. A placard outside the hospital recognized the land's former occupants. In Salem, the land was given to the Lutheran Children's Home of the South, an orphanage that operated from 1927 until the 1980s using several large brick buildings constructed after the Elizabeth fire. Roanoke College purchased the area in 1984; renamed "Elizabeth campus", two miles from Roanoke's main campus, it is the site of athletic fields and residence halls.