Archibald McDowell

Archibald McDowell. Image Source: Ancestry.com

Archibald McDowell was born in Murfreesboro in 1861, the youngest child and only son of Rev. Archibald Alexander McDowell (1818-1881). Rev. McDowell, a Baptist clergy, was a leader in the establishment of the Murfreesboro Academy, later Chowan Baptist Female Institute (now, Chowan University), serving as its president from 1848-1849, and 1862-1881. The main building on the Chowan campus, “The Columns,” is also known as “The McDowell Columns Building,” in his honor.

McDowell’s sister, Dr. Eunice McDowell (1860-1946), was a charter faculty at the Greensboro Female College (later, UNC-G), where she taught French and English. Given his family’s outstanding contributions to educational developments for women in North Carolina as well as his own successes as a business and civic leader, McDowell was named to the ECTTS board of trustees.

Like his father, McDowell attended Wake Forest College (then located in Wake Forest, just north of Raleigh) before moving to Scotland Neck in 1881. In 1889, he, an embodiment of the “New South entrepreneurial spirit,” emerged as a leader in the establishment of Scotland Neck Cotton Mills, “the town’s first foray into the state’s industrial revolution.” He also was a leader in the movement to fund electric lights and water works for the town through the issuance of municipal bonds. In 1901, he backed an effort to provide Scotland Neck with basic telephone services, and later served as president of the Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company. McDowell helped organize the first bank in Halifax County, the Scotland Neck Bank, and worked “strenuously for the issuance of bonds for graded schools” there. He was a longtime member of the local school board and advocate for the growth of public schools. His commitment to the educational and economic uplift of eastern North Carolina made him a logical choice for service on the ECTTS board. 

Sources:

• “Archie M’Dowell Taken By Death: Was Leading Business Man, Banker in Scotland Neck for Many Years.” News and Observer. July 7, 1940. P. 14.
• “Board of Trustees.” First Annual Catalogue of the East Carolina Teachers’ Training School, 1909-1910. P. 6. University Archives # UA45.03.03.03. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, North Carolina. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/6033
• “Case Studies in Small Town Development: Scotland Neck, North Carolina.” UNC School of Government. https://www.sog.unc.edu/content/scotland-neck-north-carolina
• “Chowan Observes An Anniversary: Eastern North Carolina Baptist College Has Been In Existence 73 Years.” News and Observer. October 17, 1921. P. 10.
• “Eastern Training School: The Board of Trustees Named by Board of Education.” North Carolinian. March 28, 1907. P. 8.
• “Greensboro Female College: Announcement of the Faculty – The College to Open Next Wednesday.” News and Observer. September 3, 1903. P. 3.
• “M’Dowell Last Rites Held In Scotland Neck: Murfreesboro Native was Business and Civic Leader for Number of Years.” News and Observer. July 9, 1940. P. 3.
• “McDowell Columns Building.” Chowan University. https://www.chowan.edu/location/mcdowell-columns-building/
• “Scotland Neck Historic District.” https://www.livingplaces.com/NC/Halifax_County/Scotland_Neck_Town/Scotland_Neck_Historic_District.html
• Taylor, R. Hargus. “McDowell, Archibald.” NCPedia. From the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, edited by William S. Powell. University of North Carolina Press. https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/mcdowell-archibald
• “The Baptists: And the Girls They Teach at Chowan Baptist Female Institute.” Raleigh Register. July 23, 1884. P. 1.
• Wells, John B. III and Greer Suttlemyer. “The Columns.” National Register of Historic Places – Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina Historic Preservation Office. https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/HF0001.pdf

   

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