RED SPRINGS — Take a little history with your morning coffee?
An anonymous donor has commemorated Flora MacDonald College, a pioneering school in Red Springs, on mugs.
One hundred of the mugs have been donated to Highlander Academy and the Red Springs Historical Museum and sales of the mugs will benefit those institutions. They were given in memory of Flora MacDonald College graduate and archivist, the late Frances Smith McNeill, and in memory of Red Springs Historical Museum founder and director, the late Grace Graham Britt.
The mugs feature a photograph of the Flora MacDonald campus’ main building on the front and an image of Flora MacDonald herself on the back. Started as the Red Springs Seminary in 1896, the school was re-named Flora MacDonald College in 1916 as a nod to MacDonald and the region’s rich Scottish heritage.
Born in 1722 in Uist, Scotland, Flora MacDonald moved to North Carolina’s Upper Cape Fear River Valley region in 1774, considered a celebrity and heroine in her homeland.
MacDonald had been involved in an unsuccessful movement to install a Scottish prince as king of England, believing he was the rightful heir. Before coming to North Carolina, she was imprisoned for her role in that rebellion, exonerated, and lauded for helping the defeated Scottish prince escape the English army — legend has it, by dressing him up as her maid.
Although MacDonald lived in North Carolina only a short time, she and her husband were well-known and regarded among the area’s significant Scottish population.
Flora MacDonald College thrived until it closed in 1961. The campus continued to be a center for learning with the opening of Vardell Hall in 1964. Named for Flora MacDonald College founder, Charles Graves Vardell, Vardell Hall was a women’s boarding high school and junior college. With the closing of Vardell Hall in 1973, the campus became home to Robeson Country Day School, and in 1981 the school changed its name to Flora MacDonald Academy. The tradition of quality education continues to this day on the Flora MacDonald Campus with Highlander Academy, a coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades pre-K through 12.
The mugs can be purchased for $7 while supplies last, with proceeds benefiting the institution where they were purchased.
Mugs can be purchased at the Red Springs museum Sundays and Tuesdays from 2 to 5 p.m. and at Highlander Academy on Mondays from 3:30 to 4:30 pm.
For information, contact Highlander Academy at 910- 843-4995 or Red Springs Historical Museum at 910-843-7300.
Additional images can be found at www.CommemorativeMug.com
