North Carolina School for the Deaf

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The North Carolina School for the Deaf is a state-supported residential school for deaf children established in 1894, in Morganton, North Carolina, USA.HistoryIn 1845, W.D. Cooke was hired by the state and a school was opened in Raleigh with seven deaf pupils. The school remained open during the American Civil War, then later suffered under the incompetent leadership of political appointees.Around 1890 the education trend in the United States was to have separate schools for deaf children and blind children. This led to a series of hearings that, in turn, led to legislative action. The end result was funding for a new school for deaf children and its location in Morganton, both in 1891. The prime advocate for a new school was Edward McKee Goodwin (1859–1937) of Raleigh who, in 1894, became the first superintendent, an appointment he held until 1936. The person instrumental for the location in Morganton was Col. Samuel McDowell Tate (1830–1897) of Morganton. The school for the blind remained in Raleigh as The Governor Morehead School.During the Civil War, Confederate money was printed at the school.TodayThe school is on a national historic district campus in Morganton, North Carolina with 12 buildings on 160acre of land. The school now has an annual budget of over $10 million. The historic district encompasses 14 historic buildings constructed between about 1891 and 1939. They include the main building, classroom buildings, recreational facilities, the original infirmary, staff housing, and farm buildings. They representations of Victorian, Romanesque Revival, Colonial Revival style architecture. The main building is a high Victorian three-story brick building with a slate roof and five-story tower. The Main Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and the historic district in 1989.