Historic Burwell School open for tours

From 1837 to 1857, girls from across the country squeezed their hoop skirts through the Burwell School’s narrow doors.

Now, more than 150 years later, tourists and Orange County residents squeeze through the historical school’s doors for tours and events. After a brief winter break, the school reopened to the public this month.

“We are more than just tours,” said Rebecca Ryan, executive director of the Burwell School. “We are a very active community gathering place. We take bringing something to the community seriously.”

Located near Hillsborough’s historic downtown, Ryan said the school has been opening its doors to the community for tours since 1970. It closes down each winter to prepare for the start of a new year, and this year the school has some engaging events planned.

The Burwell School hosts multiple events throughout the year, including a Black History Month celebration on Saturday and a tribute to Civil War music planned for April 21.

This week’s Black History Month event is titled “How is a Dream Lived? Clap your Hands and Sing!” The event will take place at Mt. Bright Baptist Church.

Sarah DeGennaro, executive director of the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, has visited the school multiple times.

“It is a fabulous historical site with a really rich history,” she said. “It really tells what Hillsborough was like during those years.”

In a time when it was rare for women to know little outside of needlework, the educators at the Burwell School made sure students learned everything from chemistry to religion and geography.

One of the most famous women in the Burwell household — Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly — was not allowed to be formally educated.

Keckly was a slave who resided with the Burwells and was passed among many relatives of the family.

Keckly later became an acclaimed dressmaker for the St. Louis elite and eventually for the First Lady of the United States, Mary Todd Lincoln. During this time, Keckly founded the First Black Contraband Relief Association to help freed slaves.

A PBS feature on Elizabeth Keckly won an Emmy Award at the 29th Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards Ceremony in January.

The Burwells did not educate her, but she used what resources and knowledge she did have to create a lasting legacy for black women throughout the nation.

Graduates of the Burwell School influenced educators and presidents of well-known colleges, like Greensboro College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

“They learned anything the boys would have learned,” said Natalie Baldwin, program coordinator of the Burwell School.

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