Because of his influential role in fighting for a teacher’s training school in Greenville, David Jordan Whichard’s name deserves to be mentioned among ECU’s prominent founders like Thomas J. Jarvis, James L. Fleming, and William H. Ragsdale. No one else did more to influence the school’s founding, although Whichard is often overshadowed by the other prominent founders. Whichard’s Greenville newspaper, The Daily Reflector, argued fiercely in favor of founding eastern North Carolina’s first teacher’s training school in Greenville. Whichard’s efforts ultimately succeeded: East Carolina University continues to be the driving force behind progress in Greenville and eastern North Carolina over one hundred years after its founding.
David Jordan Whichard was born in Greenville August 8, 1862. Whichard’s father, David Fleming Whichard, served in the Confederate Army, and became register of deeds after the war. His mother, Violetta Jordan Whichard, was a schoolteacher. Whichard and his brother, Julian R. Whichard, worked for Greenville’s first newspaper, Greenville Express, and in 1882, they began publishing their own paper, The Eastern Reflector, on a biweekly basis. Eventually Whichard bought his brother’s share of the enterprise and began publishing The Daily Reflector primarily for Greenville residents in 1894, while The Eastern Reflector more catered to the rural communities of Pitt County.
Under its motto, “Truth in Preference to Fiction,” The Daily Reflector kept Greenville’s citizens informed about a host of issues within the community. Parts of the paper were dedicated to the mundane travels of various community members, but others announced events of vital importance for the city. A supporter of Charles B. Aycock’s Democratic Party agenda for North Carolina, Whichard also used his newspaper to advance his own aspirations for progress in Greenville. Whichard’s newspaper depended on a literate, progressive readership, and the proposed teachers’ training school promised to produce such a population. Nearly each edition of The Reflector included an exhortation about the need for progress in eastern North Carolina through education. In this way, the nascent East Carolina Teachers’ Training School gained support from Greenville residents through Whichard’s efforts.
After Greenville was designated the home for the new training school, Whichard continued to shape public opinion by encouraging unity among the former rival towns. On July 20, 1907, shortly after Greenville was chosen, Whichard published an editorial by H. B. Nash of Rocky Mount asking North Carolinians to “bury the hatchet and go to work for the Training School.” In the end, Whichard’s dream for Greenville was realized. In R. T. Evans’ photograph of the school’s founders at the groundbreaking on July 2, 1908, Whichard is the journalist of the group, notepad and pencil in hand. His assessment of the scene was published quickly in the afternoon edition of the Reflector for July 2. Whichard died July 25, 1922, but he lived to see the beginning of the school he worked so hard to make a reality. His role as one of ECU’s key founders is undeniable and his legacy lives: today, The Daily Reflector continues to inform Greenville’s citizenry as East Carolina University provides them access to a world-class educational opportunities.
Sources
- Bratton, Mary Jo Jackson. East Carolina: The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
- Copeland, Elizabeth H., ed. Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina. Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Publishing Company, 1982.
- “Ground Broken for the School: Ex Gov. Jarvis Throws First Dirt for Foundation.” The Daily Reflector, July 2, 1908.
- Hart, H.B. “The Training School.” The Daily Reflector, July 20, 1907.
- Joyner, O. L. “D. J. Whichard.” The Daily Reflector, July 27, 1922.
- King, Henry T. Sketches of Pitt County: A Brief History of the County, 1704-1910. Raleigh, NC: Edwards and Broughton Printing Company, 1911.
- “Sorrowful Friends Pay Final Tribute to D. J. Whichard, Sr.” The Daily Reflector, July 27, 1922.
- Tucker, John Allen and Arthur Carlson. East Carolina University. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2013.
Citation Information
Title: David Jordan Whichard
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 11/8/2017