Peabody Academy was established in 1880 in Troy, North Carolina, by the American Missionary Association (AMA) for the sole purpose of educating African Americans of Montgomery County, North Carolina. The Negro boarding school attracted students from all of the surrounding rural areas including towns now known as Biscoe, Mount Gilead, Candor, Pekin, Star, in addition to Troy, North Carolina. Peabody Academy was the only institution, at the time, that served the educational needs of African Americans.
After U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Montgomery County Public School System began the process of integrating its schools under the threat of cutting off federal funds if they did not comply. Almost fourteen years after the Brown v. Board decision and nearly four years after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, the Montgomery County School Board voted to close Peabody School on March 28, 1968. The Peabody Academy was then repurposed and reopened as an integrated Troy Middle School. Today, the buildings are occupied by the Troy Housing Authority with a few rooms on the bottom floor repurposed as the Peabody Museum.
History
Founding board of trustees
Since Troy had the largest population of African Americans in Montgomery County and surrounding area, Reverend Ellis and the AMA chose the small town as the location to establish a school for freedman. Peter Green, Alexander C. Powell, and James Kron formed the original Board of Trustees for Peabody Academy. All three were former slaves and leaders in their respective communities. Mr. Green represented the Cheek Creek Township, which is the modern-day Mount Gilead/Pekin area in south-central Montgomery County. Mr. Powell represented the Rocky Springs Township, which is in between Candor and Norman area in the southeastern Montgomery County and northern Richmond County. Mr. Kron represented the Uwharrie Township, which is west of Troy in western Montgomery County. Mr. Green, born in 1810, was the elder of the three men and served as chairman. In 1878, W. H. Watkins of Troy deeded a tract of land to the Trustees of Peabody Academy for "the purpose of erecting an academy for Negroes on the road leading south from Troy".
Legacy leading to first black mayor of Troy
Sherri Allgood, the first African American Mayor of Troy who served from 2018 to 2020, is a descendant of Peter Green (paternal lineage) and Alexander C. Powell (maternal lineage). Peter Green is Allgood's third great-grandfather on her father's side. Alexander C. Powell is the brother of her third great-grandmother on her mother's side.
Predecessor to Peabody Academy
Before Peabody was established, the Freeman's Bureau established a school in Troy as part of its mission to educate African Americans across the South and former-slave states after the Civil War. In 1866–1867, General Daniel Sickles commanded the Department of the South in District 2, or the Carolinas, and had Negro schools established. The Freeman Bureau worked with Lockey Simmons, local plantation owner of 40 slaves, to establish and help fund a Negro school in Troy, called Simmon's Tan Yard. Louiza, a former slave, was his assistant. Upon his departure from Troy and death in 1880, the American Missionary Association took over the work of educating the Negro students of Troy and Montgomery County.
Naming of Peabody Academy
Although it can't be confirmed at this point, it is likely that the Peabody Academy was named after George Peabody, a prominent American international investor. George Peabody is considered to be the father of modern philanthropy. His aims were to improve society, promote education, and provide the poor with the means to help themselves, including African Americans in the South. He established the Peabody Education Fund in 1867 with $2,000,000 in funding. The fund was instrumental in the construction, endowments, scholarships, teacher and industrial education for newly freed American slaves.
It is considered by scholars to be one of the first truly modern philanthropies because of the way it went about giving its capital. The Peabody trustees devised a system of self-help by which the Foundation would provide challenge grants to local communities and the assistance was strategically targeted. Thus, the relatively meager return on the Fund's principal could be leveraged. The Fund would sought out locations where there were sufficient numbers of students and cooperative public officials who would combine the relatively small grant, tax money, or community support to build schools.