Solomon Lea, G-61
Posted by: 
drmellow
N 36° 23.682 W 079° 09.311
17S E 665444 N 4029308
First president Greensboro College, 1846-47. Founder and master of the Somerville Female Institute, 1848-1892. Home stands 100 yds. N.
Waymark Code: WM1REQ
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2007
Views: 35
Text on marker:
Solomon Lea
First president Greensboro College, 1846-47. Founder and master of the Somerville Female Institute, 1848-1892. Home stands 100 yds. N.
This historical marker is located on US 158 at Leasburg in Caswell County. It was erected in 1954.
The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources has an essay on Solomon Lea, from which the following is excerpted:
Solomon Lea, first president of Greensboro College, was born in 1807 to William and Sarah McNeil Lea. Lea grew up in Caswell County town of Leasburg that was named for his ancestors who had been pioneer settlers. He attended the University of North Carolina, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1833 and a master’s degree in 1838. While teaching school at Warrenton Academy in 1834 he fell in love with the music teacher, Sophia Ainger. The two were married in 1837. After leaving Warrenton, he taught at Boydton Female College (later Randolph Macon College) in Boydton, Virginia, until 1841 when he left to become president of Virginia’s Farmville Female School.
On February 1, 1846, Lea became the first president of Greensboro Female College. He also served as a professor of mathematics and ancient languages. Due to difficulties with a faculty member and the lack of support from trustees, Lea resigned his post as president in December of 1847. He and his wife then returned to Leasburg where in 1848 Lea opened the Somerville Female Institute. He named the preparatory school for Mary Somerville, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer. At the school’s peak, it employed four teachers and enrolled fifty to seventy-five students from several states. Among the teachers were his wife Sophia, and eventually his daughters.
Read more....
Visit Instructions:Photos of your visit to the marker are required, but PLEASE, no old vacation photos taken just because it was there!
Comments about your visit, interesting nearby areas and any significant information you may have on this waymark are encouraged.
Most of all, enjoy the History that North Carolina has to offer! From the Mountains to the Ocean .. it's all here!