The Rev. Adam Martin Barrett was born about 1844 but where he was born is a mystery.
Family tradition states he was born in the West Indies, while other vital records indicate he was born in Moore County. He arrived in Anson County after the Civil War and established Barrett’s College in the Pee Dee community of Lilesville Township in order to help give former slaves a decent education.
Barrett’s College went by several names over the years which included The Collegiate Institute for Negro Youth and The Collegiate and Industrial Institute, but it was best known as Barrett’s College. The main building was an elegant three-story brick structure. Another building stood nearby and provided dormitory accommodations for girls and boys.
A third building was a large wooden structure used as a storage building. The cost to build was $4,039.75 and the college was incorporated under the laws of the state of North Carolina in 1889. Reverend Barrett toured widely in the northern United States — and England and France — in order to raise the funds to keep his school in operation.
A pamphlet he sold on these trips gave an account of his life as a young man before the Civil War and also told of his struggles to obtain an education in spite of the law that forbade slaves to learn to read or write. He wrote, “With the abolition of slavery, a brighter day has begun to dawn for my country and my people. Old things are passing away and all things are becoming new. We wish to educate ourselves to the duties and responsibilities of free men.”
Anson County residents knew that Barrett did an excellent job in educating his students. In January of 1894, Barrett started the publication of a newspaper named The Pee Dee News. There were many subscribers to his newspaper, but it is not known for what length of time Barrett was successful at this business venture.
In October of 1916, Barrett and his wife Catherine were honored during a two-day celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. In January of 1924, Barrett’s College was destroyed by a fire, which had started in a store managed by Jim Robinson. The fire soon spread to a vacant store building and then to the college building.
According to a newspaper article from the 1970s, Mrs. Ethel Cureton was interviewed regarding her memories of Barrett’s College. Her father was in charge of the Pee Dee Railroad Station and Cureton (born 1915) remembered as a young girl, her father tried to help Barrett save some of the college’s furniture by tossing all they could out of the windows along with the help of Will Horne, who was principal of the college.
Reverend Barrett is buried in a field across the railroad tracks in the Pee Dee community, very near where his beloved college once stood. His daughter Ida Barrett Frye (1891-1962) is buried nearby at Womble Chapel AME Zion Church.
Several years ago, a timber company encircled Barrett’s grave with a fence. His headstone states the following: Dr. Adam Martin Barrett Feb. 7, 1844 – May 25, 1926. Founder and owner of Barrett College.
In recent years, framed pictures of Reverend Barrett and his wife were found in the basement of a home in the Pee Dee community and donated to the HOLLA Center in Morven for people to enjoy and know the importance of this great man from many years ago.
In my opinion, a historical marker needs to be erected in the Pee Dee community in order to honor the memory and legacy of Reverend Barrett and his dream before the entire population forgets about him.
Steve Bailey is employed with the Anson County Historical Society and has specialized in local African-American family history for 20 years.
Leave a Reply