The Unbroken Lesson: A History of Education in Holly Springs

After the war, first attempts to establish small schools failed. But education was important to the residents, and they persisted. In 1876 Holly Springs Academy was re-established as a coeducational school meeting in the Masonic Lodge, drawing students regionally. Commencement exercises brought well over 1,000 visitors to Town and required the Town Marshall to manage crowd control. The Masons assumed control of the Institute in 1892 and renamed it the Holly Springs Masonic Institute. The school closed in 1902, but Masonic records do not state the reason.

The $135,000 Cotton Crop: The Women Who Built Holly Springs High School 

After Wake County established the first public high school in Cary, the people of Holly Springs pushed for a school in Holly Springs. The Women’s Betterment Association raised $3,980.50 (equivalent to about $135,000 today) by growing and selling a cotton crop and holding fundraisers. They also helped pass a bond issue, even before they had gained the right to vote, and Holly Springs School opened in 1908. The school served white boys and girls, grades 1 – 11 (the highest grade at the time). Sylvian Knowles Brooks, who served as Town Clerk from 1944 to 1947 and Mayor from 1981-1983, taught fourth grade at the school. The school was expanded in 1914, with women again raising money for the expansion, and in 1916 had a library of over 475 books, a domestic arts wing, and an auditorium, with students boarding with Mrs. Alford and with other families in town. 

Education in a Segregated System

Black students in the area were first taught at the Good Samaritan Lodge, located on Main Street between Pine and Elm avenues, across from the Christian Church Cemetery. Black families raised money, and in 1923, with help from the Rosenwald Foundation, a Plank School was built for elementary students. High school students were sent to Berry O’Kelly School (another Rosenwald School) in Method, which is now part of Raleigh. The plank school building in Holly Springs was replaced in 1951 with a modern brick building. The school housed grades 1 – 7.

From Consolidation to Growth: The Modern School System

In 1958, county consolidation caused the closing of the white Holly Springs School and the black school in the mid-1970’s, causing all Holly Springs students to attend school out of Town. In this period, the drop-out rate for Holly Springs students surged, in large part because of their disconnection to these schools that were not their own. But education continued to be important, and the Town worked to persuade Wake County for the return of local schools.  

In 1996, Holly Springs Elementary School opened on Holly Springs Road, bringing public education back to Holly Springs. Now, local students are served by seven elementary schools, three middle schools, and five high schools in the Wake County Public School system, as well as a charter school and private schools. 

William Earl Hunt