Shaw University is a private Baptist historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the formation of a theological class of freedmen in the Guion Hotel. The following year it moved to a large wooden building, at the corner of Blount and Cabarrus Streets in Raleigh, where it continued as the Raleigh Institute until 1870. In 1870, the school moved to its current location on the former property of Confederate General Barringer and changed its name to the Shaw Collegiate Institute, in honor of Elijah Shaw. In 1875, the school was officially chartered with the State of North Carolina as Shaw University.
Belmont Abbey is an American-Cassinese monastery of Benedictine monks and a minor basilica in the town of Belmont, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. The Abbey Basilica of Mary Help of Christians was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Risden Tyler Bennett was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1883 and 1887. He was also an attorney and judge.
Samuel Cox was an English nonconformist divine and Christian universalist, born in London.
Douglas Dobell Ellington was an American architect who is noted for his work in the Art Deco style.
William J. Simmons was a formerly enslaved person who became the second president of Simmons College of Kentucky (1880–1890), for whom the school was later named.
Estey Hall is a historic building on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the first building constructed for the higher education of African-American women in the United States. Built in 1873, Estey Hall is the oldest surviving building at Shaw, which is the oldest historically black college in the South and was the second institution of higher learning established for freedmen after the Civil War. The building, originally known as "Estey Seminary," was named in honor of Jacob Estey, the largest donor to the construction project. Estey Hall, located in the East Raleigh-South Park Historic District, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is a Raleigh Historic Landmark.
Leonard Hall is a historic educational building located on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Built in 1881 and originally named Leonard Medical Center, it became known as Leonard Medical School, and then Leonard Hall. It was established when medical schools were professionalizing and was the first medical school in the United States to offer a four-year curriculum. It was also the first four-year medical school that African Americans could attend.
Henry Martin Tupper was an American Baptist minister who founded Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Beginning with bible and literacy classes in December 1865, it was the second university established for African Americans following the end of the civil war, and the second oldest historically black college and university (HBCU) in the Southern United States, as well as one of the oldest co-educational universities in the country. When the institute moved into a new building in 1871, it was renamed as Shaw Collegiate Institute in honor of a major donor. Tupper served as the University's first president from its founding until his death in 1893.
Reddin Andrews was the president of Baylor University from 1885 to 1886.
Nicholas Franklin Roberts was a leading Baptist minister and educator in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a faculty member and for a short time acting president at Shaw University. He also was a city alderman in Raleigh and served on the county board of education.
Newell Houston Ensley was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist. He was a professor at Shaw University, Howard University, and Alcorn University.
John S. Leary was an American lawyer and politician. He was of mixed ethnicity. He is described as one of the first black lawyers in North Carolina and was a member of the state legislature from 1868 to 1870. He was an alderman in Fayetteville and later held federal government appointments. He was the first dean of the law school at Shaw University in 1890.
Edward McKnight Brawley was an American educator and minister in North Carolina and South Carolina. He was the first African American to attend Bucknell University. He was an important figure in the development of the African-American church in South Carolina and the American southeast and helped found numerous churches and schools, including the Benedict Institute and Morris College. He served as president at Morris and, earlier, at Selma University. Later in his career he was a professor at Shaw University. He was also a prominent pastor at numerous churches and an important figure in civil rights and religious affairs.
Lucie Johnson Scruggs was born into slavery and she became an educator and writer from the U.S. state of Virginia. She was married to a biographer of noted women and he included her in his book.
James William Reid (1917-1972) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina.
