Ferrum College

In the heart of Ferrum, amidst the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the year 1913, emerges a school with a noble purpose. Imagine, if you will, members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Virginia working diligently to provide a better future for the underprivileged youth of the area. They gather, led by the determined Mrs. Lee Britt, President of the Virginia Conference Woman's Home Missionary Society (VCWHMS), striving to serve and enlighten the rural population of southwestern Virginia. As early as 1909, President Britt confides in Dr. Benjamin Beckham, an outstanding figure in the greater Danville district, their vision to build a school, having already amassed a modest $1,200 fund for it.

Not two years later, in 1911, Ferrum, a quaint village, is chosen for this noble endeavour, its prime location between Roanoke and Winston-Salem offering ample accessibility due to the train depot on the Norfolk and Western Railway. Beckman, enthusiastically jumping on board, promises to help raise a whopping $25,000. In the following year, a board of trustees forms, and with the generous farmer George Goode selling them eighty acres and other village citizens donating a further fifty acres, the Ferrum Training School becomes a reality.

Enter 1914, hustle and bustle dominate the once tranquil village as construction kicks into full gear. You can almost hear the merry hammering and drilling in the backdrop as Dr. Beckham moves his family to the emerging campus. Simultaneously, the first section of John Wesley Hall opens its doors to the first term of education. Progress continues as the next couple of years see a cinder road from the Ferrum Depot to the school being built, thanks to the support of the Railway, and an additional 96 acres purchased. The school's first diploma-earning student walks out of Ferrum’s gates in 1917, one Berta Thompson, who would later serve as a public school teacher.

In spite of initially facing an array of challenges, including bouts of sickness, financial difficulties, and a daunting task of recruiting faculty to the rather rural Virginia, the Ferrum Training School sails through to its first decade. By 1926, the institution matures into a junior college, and the village blesses its populace with a new public elementary school two years later. With a continuous shift toward secondary education, the school intermittently introduces post-secondary religious training courses.

Throughout the 1940s, the face of Ferrum undergoes marked transformation. Half the students enrolled are at the college level. An era concludes with the closure of the primary school, and some believe the mountain mission school has served its purpose. The looming challenge of attracting faculty and staff members to rural Virginia almost imperils the school. However, defying adversity, it garners a wide outpouring of support from the alumni, eventually revamping the school’s appeal and offering more competitive salaries. The name simplifies to Ferrum Junior College, reflecting its gradual shift over the years.

Entering the mid-20th century with Dr. Nathaniel Davis, a proud Ferrum alumnus, at the helm, the school steadily strengthens its junior college program and introduces an annual hike through the scenic mountains surrounding the campus. By the 1950s, Ferrum had transformed into a fully-fledged junior college. The next decade, under the leadership of Dr. C. Ralph Arthur, witnesses rapid development as under-credentialed faculty are replaced with professional collegiate-level educators who were provided with housing. As a result, Dr Arthur sees the student population burgeon from a mere 238 in 1958 to a substantial 646 in 1962.

Rolled on 1970, and Ferrum was met with overwhelming grief upon the loss of Dr Arthur to a long battle with cancer. His funeral, fittingly, was held in the newly built Vaughn Chapel, with every student paying respect to the transformative figure. Rising to the occasion, the historian and political scientist Dr. Joseph Hart takes the reins and ensures the upward mobility of the institution in academics and also as a community pillar.

Fast-forwarding to 1976, Ferrum Junior College, like many other junior colleges at the time, ambitiously transitions into a four-year college and accomplishes impressive academic credentials. Just as a phoenix rises from the ashes, Ferrum Noble College metamorphoses from a small mountain training school into a prestigious four-year college that awards Bachelor's degrees in over fifty major degree programs and operates several graduate programs as of today. The college continues its affiliation with the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women of the Virginia Annual Conference.