Archives & Special Collections

Photograph of the Suffolk Collegiate Institute discovered

Every once in a while, an archive can yield a treasure that hasn’t been seen in many years.  Such is the case with a photograph that was recently found in the Elon University Archives & Special Collections.  The photograph is of the Suffolk Collegiate Institute, which along with Graham College was a forerunner of Elon College, now Elon University.  What is unique about this find is that it may be the only remaining photograph of the Institute, and it is the first time a photo of the institute has been seen in many years.

Suffolk Collegiate Institute was founded in 1872 in Suffolk, Virginia, by the Eastern Virginia Conference of the Southern Christian Convention of the Christian Church.  W. B. Wellons, one of the Christian Church’s most influential figures of the time, was the school’s first president.  It was part of a movement within the Christian Church to establish denominational colleges that would educate ministers and lay people.  Another conference, the Virginia and North Carolina Conference, had established Graham Institute (later Graham College) in Graham, North Carolina, in 1852.  Both of these schools were two-year colleges and preparatory schools that later employed some of Elon’s first faculty when Elon College opened its doors in 1890.  Some of Elon College’s first students came from both Suffolk and Graham; six of the seventy-six students who enrolled at Elon in September 1890 had studied at Suffolk.

An examination of the photograph yields some interesting details.  In the 4 ½ by 8-inch mounted photograph, which is similar to a cabinet card, a group of people can be seen standing in front of the school building; the letters “Suffolk Collegiate Institute” can be seen on the front of the tower, beneath the cupola.  The people are presumably faculty, staff, and students of the institute, with women on the left and men on the right.  Several children can be seen standing in the front row; they could be children of faculty and staff.  The photograph was probably taken in the 1880s or early 1890s.

Dr. J. U. Newman, an important leader of the Christian Church of the time, may be standing in the 2nd row, the balding man just to the right of the center of the photograph.  His wife may be standing next to him.  There is a dog in the left foreground.  A woman is standing on the second story balcony.  Finally, the words “Suffolk Collegiate Inst. Suffolk Va” are written in pencil underneath the photograph.

The woman on the balcony is identified by information on the back of the photograph.  The reverse side of the photo has this inscription, written in pencil: “The lady peeping from the second story porch is my grandmother, Mrs. Sarah C. Manning wife of John T. Manning, who succeeded W. B. Wellons as head of the Board of S. Col. Inst. J. Kernodle”.  An advertisement in the 1874 Christian Annual lists Rev. J. N. Manning was one of the Board of Managers of SCI; he is also listed as an ex officio member of the Suffolk Collegiate Institute faculty in its 1875 Annual.

There are two other items of note on the back: “4 x 6 2. Copies” is written in pen in the upper left corner.  Beneath the inscription identifying Mrs. Manning, there is a faded stamp from a business, evidently in Suffolk.  The names “Rawles” can be made out in the top of the stamp, but the initials have been smudged and are difficult to make out.  The center of the stamp may say “Fine Shirts and Shoes”, but the 2nd word has faded considerably.  The bottom of the stamp says, “Suffolk, VA”.

Suffolk Collegiate Institute was located at 447 West Washington Street in Suffolk.  An advertisement for the school that appeared in the Christian Sun shows a drawn illustration of the school building.  Professor P. J. Kernodle is listed as the principal.

By the 1890s, Suffolk College Institute was sharing part of its grounds with the Suffolk Military Academy.  After 1898, it is not clear if the school was still open.  The building itself was destroyed by fire around 1907 or 1908.