Oates-Reynolds Memorial Building

In the late 1800s, Alabama’s public school system was extremely lacking. It was inadequately organized and operated, lacking a surplus of teachers to distribute to rural areas. By 1880 slightly over fifty percent of the state population was still illiterate. To meet the needs of the rural people, numerous private schools began to spring up. Between 1880 and 1900 more than 100 of these private and denominational high schools, academies, colleges, and institutes were chartered to meet the educational needs of the people. These schools offered everything from religious training to several years’ worth of college-level work. They represented an honest effort among the people to establish schools that would furnish them with an adequate education.

The institute that once resided in this building was founded in 1898 under the leadership of A. W. Tate, Reverend Mr. Laudermilk, and the Newton Baptist Church. In 1908 the Baptist state convention agreed to accept the school and institute as a gift and received the deed. The convention began providing financial support to the school in 1912. Within nine years the school had to be enlarged three times, and by 1918 it had 250 students drawn from all over the Wiregrass region. The school offered regular academics on the elementary and high school levels, with two years of college available. In addition, the school offered courses in business training, accounting, speech, and music. Tuition at the school was only between $1 and $1.50 per month. The institute was established on land donated by Newton local Mrs. Carrie Jones Haley. 

Unfortunately, however, the entire campus burned to the ground in the early 1920s and a new classroom building and girls dormitory was built to replace it between 1911 and 1922. The new building is a large two-story brick and masonry building. It has four large columns and has 36 rooms, 18 on the first floor 18 on the second. It is now the only remaining building of the Baptist Collegiate Institute and is one of the oldest educational landmarks in the wiregrass region. Sponsorship of the school was assumed by the Southeast Alabama-Northwest Florida Baptist Association, so named the Baptist Collegiate Institute. Even as late as 1930 brick buildings in the region were still rare, making this building even more significant. 

The BCI closed in 1929 due to a lack of funds and the building was repossessed by the city. The public school system utilized the classroom and the dormitory was rented out. Through the course of the school’s history, the school graduated 650 qualified teachers from the institute, helping fill the need for qualified teachers in the Wiregrass area.

The BCI Alumni Association purchased the building from the city in 1973 and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 13th, 1974. Marcus Rosser started the public library in the mid-1970s and grant money was subsequently used for updating the building to be an agriculture museum. Money from a later grant was used to repair the structure and renovate the inside to provide air conditioning.

Today the building serves as a library and museum for Newton.

Floyd, W. Warner. Oates-Reynolds Memorial Building, National Register of Historical Places. June 13th 1974. Accessed November 28th 2020. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=e70cab7a-d983-463a-a177-a3014233a316.

Gaines, David J. Baptist Collegiate Institute, Historical Marker Database. March 24th 2018. Accessed November 28th 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=79000.

Home, Newton Public Library /Museum. Accessed November 28th 2020. https://aplsnew-web.apls.state.al.us:10139/newton/web/.

Mann, Michelle. Historic library and museum open for business in Newton, The Southeast Sun. September 9th 2020. Accessed November 28th 2020. http://www.southeastsun.com/daleville/article_652fc7c2-f2a7-11ea-b13b-0739c489398e.html.

Sailors, Jimmy. Newton museum prepares for grand opening, Dothan Eagle. January 21st 2018. Accessed November 28th 2020. https://dothaneagle.com/news/local/newton-museum-prepares-for-grand-opening/article_9e1b5ff6-fd7c-11e7-9e2e-039d5511d52e.html.