A Search for Teachers

As noted in the July 26 post “The School Iron Built”, Shelby Iron Works constructed, staffed, and equipped the first school in the Shelby community.
Above is a letter from Vanderbilt University to iron company officer C.J. Hazard regarding the search for teachers. The letter is dated September 11, 1883.
It reads:
“At this period of our scholastic year, we cannot assist you in obtaining such a teacher as you desire. None of our students will leave their work here to enter upon the conduct of a school.
At the close of our session we are able to meet very satisfactorily all requests similar to yours.”

The School Iron Built

By 1868, Shelby Iron Works had begun reconstruction and retooling following the destruction left by troops of Wilson’s Cavalry Corps.
The influx of money from a group of New England investors had begun to reinvigorate the company.
High on the agenda of new Shelby Iron officers A.W. North and A.G. West, was the improvement of education in the Shelby community. The photo above is of the school built by Shelby Iron Works. Books and other supplies were not easily obtained in the immediate post-Civil War South. A.W. North, the company financial officer, arranged for these supplies to be sent by John H. Browning, a fellow stockholder in New York.