Oxford Female College
Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Oxford Female College. Opened 1851 by Baptists, operated by individuals after 1857. Franklin P. Hobgood, president, 1880-1924. School closed 1925. Campus was 2 blocks S.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Opened by Baptists in 1851, Oxford Female College offered higher education to young women at a time when such opportunities were rare. Under president Franklin P. Hobgood, who led it from 1880 to 1924, the school flourished for decades before closing in 1925. Its campus stood two blocks south of this marker.
Why it matters
The college marks an early chapter in the education of American women, part of the slow expansion of learning beyond the men who had long monopolized it.
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Related people
- ยท Franklin P. Hobgood
Themes & tags
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