Wilson Pergola

From 1926 until the mid-1950s, a pergola stood on the west end of campus in front of the girls’ dorm (later, Wilson Dorm) and directly across Fifth Street from the residence of Claude “Charlie” Wayland Wilson (1867-1922). Alumnae built it as a memorial to Wilson, one of the school’s charter faculty. Wilson passed away at age 52, apparently of a heart attack, at a crucial juncture as East Carolina transitioned from a training school to a teachers college. Earlier, in addition to teaching pedagogy and building a department of education, Wilson oversaw the ECTTS summer school program and served as secretary to the school’s board of trustees. On campus, the pergola was among the most attractive architectural sites. Unlike the massive brick-and-tile-roofed buildings, the pergola was a diminutive, white wooden structure, delicate yet sturdy in design, offering a distinguished, quiet elegance bordered by thick woods buffering the campus from downtown Greenville. Although a popular spot for yearbook photos, it was razed to make room for a new dorm, Garrett Hall.

President Robert Wright offered one of the first tributes to Wilson. In a statement read before the board of trustees, Wright said,

“… in my absence [C. W. Wilson] was the person to whom I turned over the administrative duties of the College. His death is the most serious blow the College has ever had when viewed from the internal workings of the institution. He understood thoroughly our state’s educational needs, and worked indefatigably to meet those needs. He literally gave his life for the children of North Carolina. In his going our state has lost one of its best citizens and one of its most unselfish public servants. This College has lost one of its strongest workers, one of its best teachers, and one of its most loyal and enthusiastic spirits. His place cannot be filled…”

The Wilson Memorial Pergola served for several years as a public appreciation for a life devoted to teaching and education. The alumnae presented it to the school on January 16, 1926 during a ceremony held in the Administration Building (later, Austin) that was attended by 700 students, faculty, the board of trustees, friends and family. The chief speaker was J. Y. Joyner, former state superintendent of public education and chair of the trustees for over ten years. Reporting the event, the Teco Echo related that “the pure white of the graceful pergola with the woods as background is fittingly emblematic of the beloved Mr. Wilson’s life of service.”

As its first campus photo, the 1926 Tecoan featured the pergola on a snow-covered lawn. The caption read,

“On the campus stands a pure white pergola, erected by the Alumnae as a perpetual reminder of the life of service of Professor C. W. Wilson. It is fitting that the memorial to him should be placed on the west campus opposite his house, where from his porch he loved to watch the girls enjoy the campus. May this not only be a happy meeting place for the girls, but may it keep alive the influence he exerted while at the College.”

From 1926 through the early 1950s, the pergola appeared in the Tecoan annually, nearly always as a backdrop for female students posing for yearbook pictures. In not a few, Wilson’s Fifth Street residence appears in the background, as if to suggest his continued presence on campus.

Wilson’s contributions to public education were exceptional and yet, as with everything done at East Carolina in those early decades, equally supporting a segregated system of education that in the end, would continue not much longer than did the pergola honoring him.

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Sources

• "Beautiful Pergola: Wilson Memorial." Teco Echo. January 16, 1926. Vol. 1, no. 2. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37804.
• "Claude Wayland Wilson." Tecoan. Greenville, N.C.: East Carolina Teachers College, 1938. Pp. 204-205.
• "Claude Wayland Wilson." Training School Quarterly. January, February, March, 1922. Vol. IX, no. 2. Pp. 121-155.
• "Claude W. Wilson." University Archives # 55.01.2162. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/23219.
• Bratton, Mary Jo. East Carolina University: The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville, N.C.: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
• "Exercises for Presentation of Memorial Gift." Teco Echo. January 30, 1926. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37805.
• Ferrell, Henry C., Jr. No Time For Ivy: East Carolina University, 1907-2007. Greenville, N.C.: East Carolina University, 2006.
• "The Wilson Memorial." Tecoan. Greenville, N.C.: East Carolina Teachers College, 1926. P. 8.
• "Wilson Dormitory." University Archives # 55.01.0124. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/10166.
• Wright, Robert H. "Statement on Claude W. Wilson." Board of Trustees Minutes. February 21, 1922. P. 29. University Archives # 01.01.01 Box 2. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/11585.

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