Seven men founded Fayetteville State University in November 1867. On Friday, the university honored their legacy by naming six residence halls and a gallery in the campus library after them.
“Today marks a sacred, long overdue moment in our university’s 158-year history: The official naming of our campus spaces in honor of Fayetteville State University’s Magnificent Seven, the original founders of this institution, whose names until now have not graced our buildings on this campus,” Chancellor Darrell T. Allison said during the Founders’ Legacy & Landmarks Celebration.
“But today, that changes,” he said.
The ceremony drew about 250 alumni, students, boosters and others. These included about 120 descendants of the seven founders, university spokesperson Chuck McKinnon said.
The seven founders were David A. Bryant, Nelson Carter, Andrew Jackson Chesnutt, George W. Grange, Sr., Matthew N. Leary, Jr., Thomas Lomax, and Robert H. Simmons.
Allison told CityView he realized more than a year ago, when campus officials were considering potential names for a new residence hall under construction, that no campus buildings were named for the seven founders. So he advanced the naming proposal to the university’s Board of Trustees, which approved the idea. The total cost for the new signage is under $100,000, he said.
Four of the six residence halls that were renamed had been named for other people. Allison said the university has not gotten criticism for changing the names of those buildings.
Before Friday, one of those residence halls at this historically Black university had been named for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction James Yadkin Joyner, who was in office in the early 20th century. Researchers at Meredith College studied Joyner’s public statements and concluded that he was a white supremacist.
The origins of Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State was born in November 1867 not as a four-year university, but as a school for Black people following the Civil War. It was called the Howard School, named for Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, commissioner of the federal Freedmen’s Bureau. The school was part of a movement throughout former slavery states to educate America’s newly freed African American community.
“Black citizens in Fayetteville were zealots for education,” Fayetteville State’s webpage about the university’s history says.
The seven founders paid $136 to buy two plots of land on Gillespie Street for the school, the history says.
In 1877, the North Carolina General Assembly picked the Howard School in Fayetteville as a teacher training institution for the state’s Black residents. With the new mission, the school’s name changed to the State Colored Normal School. Over the next century the school moved, expanded and grew into what today is Fayetteville State University.
Here are the founders, the renamed buildings, and the newly named gallery
Gallery in Charles W. Chesnutt Library named for Andrew Jackson Chesnutt
The campus library at Fayetteville State is named in honor of Charles W. Chesnutt, an author who was from Fayetteville, and who was the school’s second leader.
Charles Chesnutt’s father was FSU founder Andrew Jackson Chesnutt. A gallery on the library’s fourth floor is now named for Andrew Chesnutt.
“A visionary entrepreneur and civic leader, he played a key role in Fayetteville’s Reconstruction-era transformation,” say notes provided by Fayetteville State. “A Union Army teamster during the Civil War, he later built a successful business and engaged in politics. His legacy endures through the Andrew Jackson Chesnutt Gallery.”
Joyner Hall is now Lomax Hall
The 100-student Joyner Residence hall was built in 1930, Fayetteville State said, and originally was named Joyner Hall for James Yadkin Joyner. Joyner was North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1902 to 1919.
Meredith College in Raleigh removed Joyner’s name from one of its academic buildings in 2022 after its staff found evidence that he was a white supremacist. Meredith College history professor Daniel L. Fountain wrote in The News & Observer that his research found that Joyner in 1903 said Black people are “a child race,” and that if Black people are not properly educated, “our only safety will lie in extermination.”
Fountain wrote that Joyner also said, “No child with negro blood in his veins, however remote the strain, shall attend a school for the white race.”
Now the building is named for FSU founder Thomas Henry Lomax.
“A distinguished clergyman and educator, Thomas Henry Lomax rose from brick mason to bishop of the AMEZ Church,” Fayetteville State’s notes say. “A champion of education, he helped found Fayetteville State University and Livingstone College.”
Smith Hall is now Carter Hall
Smith Residence Hall was built in 1953 and named for Nannie Goode Smith, the second wife of E.E. Smith (who was a principal and later president of the Colored Normal School of Fayetteville, now Fayetteville State). The building is now Nelson Carter Residence Hall.
A 1950-51 course catalog for the university (then known as Fayetteville State Teachers College), says Nannie Goode Smith was the college’s business manager for 30 years, and that she sold and donated land to the institution.
“A man of enterprise and faith, Nelson Carter navigated the Cape Fear River as a skilled boatman and thrived as a merchant,” the notes from Fayetteville State say. “His leadership helped establish what became Fayetteville State University.”
Renaissance Hall is now Bryant Hall
Renaissance Hall, which wasn’t named after anyone when it opened in 2012, is now named in honor of founder David A. Bryant.
Fayetteville State’s notes say, “David A. Bryant was a cornerstone of the Fayetteville community. As chairman of the Board of Trustees of Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church, he championed religious and educational initiatives.”
New Residence Hall is now Grange Hall
New Residence Hall, which opened in 1976 and was not named for anyone, is now Grange Residence Hall, named for George W. Grange.
“A visionary leader and elder of the AMEZ Church, he shaped the religious and educational landscape of his time,” say the notes from Fayetteville State. “A respected merchant and presiding elder, he guided congregations across North Carolina.”
Harris Hall is now Leary Hall
The former Harris Residence Hall was built in 1938 and named for Robert Harris. According to Fayetteville State, Harris was the first principal of the school, from 1867 to 1880, when it was the Howard School and then the State Colored Normal School.
Founder Matthew N. Leary, Jr. was “a prominent businessman and civic leader,” Fayetteville State’s notes say.
He is described as “a skilled harness and saddle maker whose success fueled his contributions to education and community development. An advocate for progress, he played a key role in Reconstruction-era politics and co-founded St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church.”
Hood Hall is now Simmons Hall
Hood Residence Hall was built in 1939 and named for Bishop James Walker Hood of the AMEZ Church. Hood had been a state assistant superintendent of public schools from 1868 to 1871, FSU’s notes say.
Now it’s Robert H. Simmons Residence Hall.
“Robert H. Simmons dedicated his life to public service and education. As a deputy sheriff, justice of the peace, and minister, he was a pillar of the Fayetteville community,” FSU’s notes say.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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