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The Centennial Exhibit of Duke University Library book

On This Day: April 23, 1939

Duke Celebrates 100 Years of Education

In 1838, Methodist and Quaker families in rural Randolph County, N.C. employed Brantley York as a permanent teacher for their subscription school in Brown’s Schoolhouse. This origin story, which was the true educational beginning of the school that would eventually become Duke University, was commemorated a century later with a 100th Anniversary celebration in 1939 featuring ceremonies, symposia, lectures, and performances.