Rev. Luke Dorland and his wife, Juliette,
arrived in Hot Springs in 1886 to rest.
Rev. Dorland, age 71, had already given
39 years to the Presbyterian Church as
a pastor and an educator. However, Hot
Springs had no school. So when the people
of Hot Springs learned that the Dorlands
were teachers and appealed to Luke and
Juliette to educate their children, the Dorlands
did not refuse.
School in Hot Springs began with 25
children in the Dorland‘s dining room. The
next year, with more children wanting to attend,
the Dorlands built a two–story school
in back of their house for 60 students. By
1890, the school was crowded with over
100 children from 6 to 19 years old, some
walking 2 to 6 miles. Since many students
lived too far away to walk, Mrs. Dorland
made space to board some girls in her home.
In 1893, Rev. Dorland appealed to the
Presbyterian Mission Board and the Board
took over the Hot Springs school. Construction
began on a new, five–story building to
be a girls‘ dormitory and extra classrooms
with a new name: Dorland Institute. The
institute grew with a boys‘ dormitory and
farm and additional buildings, including a
new schoolhouse, Phillips Hall. In 1918,
The Bell Institute from Walnut merged with
Dorland to become Dorland–Bell School. The
school continued until 1942 when it transferred
to the Asheville Farm School, today
known as Warren Wilson College.
Dorland Memorial Presbyterian Church was built across
the street from the Dorland Institute in 1900, three years
after the death of Luke Dorland. J.H. Rumbough donated
the land. Architect Richard Sharp Smith, who worked
on the Biltmore Estate, finalized the church plans. This
church still stands in town today.
While boys attended the Dorland Institute from
its beginning, a boys‘ home, called the Willows, was
acquired in 1900. This 10–room brick home, formerly a
drovers‘ inn, was a 2–mile walk up the railroad tracks to
school. Most of the 32 "boys" were 14 to 25 years old.
The grand girls‘ dormitory housed 60 girls and
included a kitchen, dining room, laundry, library, parlor,
and two classrooms. It was completed in 1894.
Learning INdustry and Thrift
At this industrial school, Dorland students
combined work with study. Both boys and girls
were responsible for cooking, cleaning, and
washing their own clothes. They also chopped
wood, cared for the grounds and gardened—
all practical skills needed for adult life. They
learned to do their tasks with efficiency and
thrift.
At the boys‘ farm, young men practiced
modern farming techniques and skills. The boys
raised corn, potatoes, oats, and vegetables, cut
firewood, and built a fruit house, hen house,
smokehouse, a new barn and a silo. They even
canned their produce.
Practice cottages were started in 1910 as a
place for 6 to 10 girls to "learn by doing." They
bought groceries and supplies, prepared meals,
and kept the cottage clean.
For a few years, the school had its own ferryboat donated
by Northern Presbyterians. The boys used the ferry to
cross the French Broad River to and from the Willows.
Monthly socials with the girls
included picnics at the Willows.
These boys are preparing picnic
food to entertain the girls.
