Amite Female Seminary

Amite Female Seminary
A surviving building from the school
Amite Female Seminary is located in Mississippi
Amite Female Seminary
LocationMS 569, Liberty, Mississippi
Coordinates31°09′37″N 90°48′20″W / 31.16028°N 90.80556°W / 31.16028; -90.80556 (Amite Female Seminary)
Arealess than one acre
Built1853
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Federal, Adamesque
NRHP reference No.80002200[1]
Added to NRHPApril 17, 1980

The Amite Female Seminary was a seminary in Liberty, Mississippi in Amite County. One building survives and is a Mississippi Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The seminary, founded in 1853, was burned by Union troops in 1863 but its music building survived[2] and is now a museum.[3] Amite Female Seminary was founded in 1853 by Rev. Milton S. Shirk.[4] It taught music, literature, history, mathematics, "modern" languages, philosophy, science and physical education. It closed during the American Civil War and burned.[5] Its board was appointed by the Mississippi Baptist Association.[6]

William Cecil Duncan spoke at the school July 7, 1858.[7] American journalist and poet Pearl Rivers attended the school.[8]

The historic integrity of the building was reduced somewhat by repairs done during 1979, but it was still accepted for listing on the National Register in 1980.[3][9]

Its National Register nomination stated:

The building retains its two major architectural features--the Greek Revival double gallery on the front facade and the stepped-gable roof parapet on the rear elevation. The stepped gable is an especially interesting Adamesque detail associated also with two residences in Amite County constructed in the same 10-year period: the Talbert-Cassels House and the Winston Wilkinson House.[9]

Subsequently to that writing, those two houses were also National Register-listed, the former in 1980 and the latter in 1984.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "Property". www.apps.mdah.ms.gov.
  3. ^ a b "Amite female seminary makes historic register". Clarion-Ledger. October 3, 1980. p. 15. Retrieved June 17, 2023. Open access icon
  4. ^ "The story of Liberty - Seat of Amite County". Sun Herald. January 18, 1962. p. 4. Retrieved June 17, 2023. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Amite Female Seminary". Read the Plaque.
  6. ^ "Supplementary Educational Monographs". May 17, 1921 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Duncan, William Cecil (May 17, 1858). "The Education of Woman: An Address Delivered on July 7, 1858 Before the Amite Female Seminary, Liberty, Miss". New Orleans Baptist Book and Publication Society – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Pearl Rivers, Mississippi writer and poet of Times Picayune by Don Wicks". www.mswritersandmusicians.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Jack A. Gold (January 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Amite Female Seminary / Little Red Schoolhouse". National Park Service. Retrieved April 29, 2023. With accompanying four photos from 1979