In 1904, the Kings Mountain
Association of Baptist churches
decided it was time to develop an
institution that "could have the best
possible educational advantages
under the distinctive Christian
influence." By 1905, Boiling Springs
was selected as the location for such
as school, and the school was charted
as the Boiling Springs High School,
Incorporated. Construction work
was begun in 1907 on the main
building, the Huggins-Curtis Hall,
and the cornerstones were laid in
June of the year.
In 1928, the school opened as a
junior college with J. Blaine Davis as
its first president. The school
remained basically the same until
1939, when the grounds and
buildings were partially beautified
and renovated. In 1942, the college
was led in an effort to raise $150,000
which resulted in the expansion of
the campus from five to 35 acres, and
in that same year, the trustees of the
college changed the name of the
institution to Gardner-Webb Junior
College in honor of North Carolina
Governor O. Max Gardner and his
wife, Faye Webb Gardner.
Gardner-Webb was admitted to
the Baptist family of colleges of
North Carolina in 1946. Also in 1946,
the college achieved the goal of
attaining the highest accreditation
within its reach-- full and
unqualified membership in the
Southern Association of Colleges
and Secondary Schools.
The next goal of Gardner-Webb
Junior College was to become a
four-year senior college. This goal.
however, was not as easily attained
as the previous goals. It took 23
years, until 1969, for the college to
accomplish this objective. The first
class of four-year students
graduated from Gardner-Webb
College in May 1971. And here we
are, after 85 years of evolution- from
high school to senior college. Now is
the time to think about the future
and what it holds for Gardner-Webb
College. Why, just in this very issue
of The Pilot, plans to go NCAA
Division H have been unveiled. The
natural move after that, of course, is
to change from a college to a
university. Gardner-Webb College is
not standing still and neither should
you. The future of this institution is
in your hands; take and mold it into
a masterpiece. Enjoy the scenes from
the past!