Scope and arrangement

C. Morgan Williams & Bro., agents in Washington, N.C., for the Insurance Company of North America, prepared an inspection and survey report for Beaufort County, N.C., schools in 1934. The introduction in the inspection report notes that all the schools with the exception of Belhaven, a white school, are beyond access to public [fire] protection. The report recommends the use of chemical fire extinguishers, not storing combustible supplies in closets under stairs, regular fire drills, placing metal mats under the legs of wood stoves to prevent flooring from catching on fire, and closing windows and locking schools when not in use to prevent trespassing. The introduction closes with a discussion of insurance rates.

The body of the report includes photographs and descriptions of eighty-one properties owned by the Beaufort County Board of Education. The description for each property includes information on the location, whether the building is vacant, type of construction, type of roof, type of interior finish and whether partitioned into rooms, type of heating in use, general condition of the building and when it was built if known, and the value of the property and contents. The first fifty-two photographs are of white schools and the remaining twenty-nine are of colored schools. Photographs of the colored schools occasionally include either teachers or school children in the picture.

A separate item included in the collection is an incomplete option for sale of property in the Chocowinity township known as Clarksville to the Beaufort County, N.C., Board of Education.

Administrative information

Custodial History

April 29, 1993, 1 volume; Report (1934) of school property in Beaufort County, N.C., consisting of insurance inspection reports and photographs of educational facilities. Gift of Mr. Paul F. Stephens, New Bern, N.C.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mr. Paul F. Stephens

Processing information

Processed by M. Boccaccio, June 1996

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration

Key terms

Corporate Names

Beaufort County Schools (Beaufort County, N.C.)

Topical

African American schools--North Carolina--Beaufort County--History--20th century
Fire insurance--North Carolina--Beaufort County
Public schools--North Carolina--Beaufort County
School facilities--North Carolina--Beaufort County

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