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Latta University
Address
1001 Parker Street

Raleigh
,
United States
,
North Carolina

United States
Information
School typePrivate African American trade school
FoundedOctober 6, 1892; 132 years ago (October 6, 1892)
FounderMorgan London Latta
StatusClosed
Closed1920s
PresidentMorgan London Latta
Campus typeRural

Latta University was a historically Black coeducational trade school in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was founded in 1892 by Rev. Morgan London Latta. The school closed in the 1920s amid scandals surrounding its founder's theft of donations to the university. Today, the university is considered a mostly dishonest scheme that did little to advance Raleigh's Black population.

Manual Training Department
Kindergarten Department
Latta University faculty and students
Latta Chapel and Men's Dormitory

History

[edit]

In 1892, Rev. Morgan London Latta started Latta University in Raleigh, North Carolina as a coeducational trade school for underprivileged Blacks.[1][2][3] Latta was born enslaved at the nearby Cameron Plantation (now known as Cameron Village) in 1856.[3] He later earned a college degree from Shaw University and became a school teacher.[3][4][5][a] His university opened on October 6, 1892, with fifty students.[6][7] He incorporated Latta University in North Carolina on February 15, 1894, and served as the university's president.[8][5] The university had 65 students in the fall of 1893 and 92 for the spring 1894 semester.[9]

Latta University taught blacksmithing, brick-laying, laundry, carpentry, and making horseshoes.[1] Its students were men and women who were previously enslaved in the Raleigh area, including the Camerson, Mordecai, and Stagville plantations.[10] Students in the industrial school were required to be at least sixteen years old.[8] However, the university also had a kindergarten department to educate the orphaned children.[1] Some of the male students were members of an Orphanage Band that played around Raleigh to raise money for their education.[8]

Tuition, room, and board cost $6.75 a month for male students and $5.75 a month for female students.[4][8] This included linens, furnishings, heat, light, and washing.[8] Those who could not afford tuition worked on the school's farm or as construction workers on campus.[4] In his autobiography, Latta wrote that one-third of the students could not afford to pay tuition, causing him to accumulate personal debt.[8] As a result, he often relied on donations from the public to keep the university operational.[8] Latta and other faculty members served as the university's agent to raise funds in North Carolina and other states.[9][11] In August 1911, J. H. Bivans was arrested in Reading, Pennsylvania for fraudulently collecting money for Latta University; Bivan had collected $800 but had only delivered $23 in checks to Latte.[12]

Around 1912, rumors began to circulate that Rev. Latta was raising donations for the school from Northerners but was not using the funds toward the education of students.[13][14][11][15] In 1903, Latta wrote that the university had more than 1,400 students; however, the student photographs in his book and the university's records did not appear to support his claim.[8] One newspaper noted that no students had been enrolled for many years.[15] Some called the university a "scam" and a "fraud".[13][15] Elizabeth Reid Murray, characterizes Latta as “a real crook” in her official history of Wake County, North Carolina.[16] Wilmoth Carter of Shaw University wrote, "Latta University was all bogus, it wasn't even a good primary school...he only had two wooden buildings and they weren't even good barns. The three or four students he had were members of his own family. He hardly had a fifth grade education himself."[17]

Latta University closed in the 1920s.[1][4] Latta and his wife left their mansion on the university property and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[4]

The former Latta University site was designated a Raleigh Historic Site in 2003 but lost that status in 2007 when the last building on the property was destroyed by a fire.[18] After the fire, the remaining two acres of the former campus was given to the city of Raleigh.[1][18][2] In 2009, the city undertook an archaeological survey of the former campus, leading to its restoration as a Raleigh Historic Site on July 6, 2010.[2] The archaeological survey found the foundations of many buildings and numerous artifacts relating to the trade school and its curriculum.[18]

The city opened the property as the Latta University Historic Park on April 24, 2024.[2]

Campus

[edit]

The Latta University campus was located at 1001 Parker Street, off of Oberlin Road in the Oberlin Neighborhood of Raleigh.[3][18][2] Latta purchased in the property in 1891.[8] The campus included up to 300 acres and 23 buildings.[4] This included two three-story dormitories for students.[4] On May 12, 1896, the university lost three buildings, including the library and the president's residence, to fire.[8][19][20] The university sold 100 acres of its campus in September 1913, for $100 per acre.[21]

The Rev. M. L. Latta House, the last remaining structure on the campus, was destroyed by a fire in January 2007.[1][3]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Wilmoth Carter of Shaw University writes that Latta only received a 5th-grade education.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Lost university: How an entire college vanished near downtown Raleigh". WRAL.com. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e Weber, Pete (October 31, 2024). "Latta University Historic Park". Raleigh, NC. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Fire Ravages Historic Latta House". WRAL.com. 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Nickens, T. Edward (2021-02-02). "The Dreams That Linger". Our State. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  5. ^ a b "Sued for Burning Six Hundred Lives. They All Belong to Rev. M. L. Latta, A. M. D. D". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1908-04-29. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Latta's University". The Evening Visitor. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1892-04-28. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "News of the City". The State Chronicle. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1892-10-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Latta, M. L. (1903). "The History of My Life and Work". Raleigh: Rev. M. L. Latta / Presses of Edwards & Broughton. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Documenting the American South.
  9. ^ a b "The Oberlin Colored College". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1894-06-07. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Leah, Heather (October 1, 2018). "Latta University: Lost stories of Raleigh's segregated education". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  11. ^ a b "Suckers are Running Yet". Winston-Salem Journal. 1912-01-20. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Collector Relieved of Checks and BOok". Reading Times. 1911-08-12. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "News Updates". The Raleigh Times. January 18, 1912. p. Front page. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "A Card". The Evening Visitor. September 9, 1891. p. Front page. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c "Latta's 'University' Pronounced a Fraud". The Asheville Times. 1912-01-19. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Reid Murray, Elizabeth (January 1, 2008). Wake: Capital County of North Carolina: Volume II, Reconstruction to 1920. Wake County Public School System. pp. 267–268. ISBN 978-0963919816.
  17. ^ Carter, Wilmoth (1961). The Urban Negro in the South. Legare Street Press. p. 118. ISBN 1018175288.
  18. ^ a b c d "Archaeologists unearth remnants of Latta House". WRAL.com. 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  19. ^ "Latta University at Raleigh Burned". The Charlotte Observer. 1896-05-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Burning of Latta University". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1896-05-13. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Purchases Land". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1913-09-06. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-12-07 – via Newspapers.com.
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