The Governor Morehead School
Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
The Governor Morehead School. Established for visually impaired students in 1845 under leadership of John Motley Morehead. Present plant is 500 yards north.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
In 1845, North Carolina opened a state institution for visually impaired students, guided by the leadership of Governor John Motley Morehead. It was among the earliest efforts in the antebellum South to provide formal education for children who had long been excluded from schooling. The school endured and grew, its later campus rising just north of this spot.
Why it matters
It marks an early American commitment to public education for people with disabilities, a cause that reshaped who the schoolhouse was meant to serve.
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Related people
- · John Motley Morehead
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
North Carolina State University
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The Governor Morehead School
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Founded in 1845 under Governor John Motley Morehead, this state school gave visually impaired North Carolinians a place to learn in an era when such children were often left without instruction. It was one of the antebellum South's pioneering special-education institutions. Its working campus stood a few blocks south of this marker.
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