Editing Normal school (section)

====South====
'''1868 – Storer Normal School, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia'''<br />
It served primarily African-American students; teachers were desperately needed after the [[U.S. Civil War|Civil War]], with large numbers of freed slaves to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic to. The school was part of [[Storer College]], although in the 19th century it did not provide college-level instruction. The school closed in 1955.

'''1872 – Florence Normal School, Huntsville, Alabama'''<br />
[[Image:Wesleyan-hall-6-07.jpg|thumb|Historic [[University of North Alabama Wesleyan Hall|Wesleyan Hall]] in [[Florence, Alabama]]]]Florence Normal School is one of many state normal schools that developed into four-year state teachers' colleges and eventually into comprehensive state universities. This is the site of the first state-supported normal school established south of the [[Ohio River]] and now part of the [[University of North Alabama]].

'''1873 – State Normal School, Normal, Alabama'''<br />
In 1873, the State Normal School and University for the Education of the Colored Teachers and Students, informally called the Huntsville Normal School, was founded at a site which is today part of [[Huntsville, Alabama]]. In 1878, the name changed to State Normal and Industrial School. In 1885 the name was changed again, to State Normal and Industrial School of Huntsville. In 1890, the post office of [[Normal, Alabama]], was established. In 1896, its name was changed to The State Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes, and in 1919, the State Agricultural and Mechanical Institute for Negroes. In 1948 it was renamed the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College, in 1949 Alabama A&M College, and in 1969 [[Alabama A&M University]].

'''1876 – Glasgow Normal School and Business College, Glasgow, Kentucky'''<br />
In 1876, local businessman A. W. Mell opened a private normal school and business college in the small South Central Kentucky town of Glasgow. The institution changed its name to Southern Normal School and Business College when it moved to the larger city of [[Bowling Green, Kentucky|Bowling Green]]. In 1906, after the [[Kentucky General Assembly]] (state legislature) authorized the creation of state-sponsored normal schools, the Southern Normal School was sold to the state, while the business school was sold privately, becoming Bowling Green Business University and later the Bowling Green College of Commerce. The normal school's facilities and student body became the new Western Kentucky State Normal School, which moved within Bowling Green in 1911 to the former site of Potter College, a women's college that had closed in 1909. Once the normal school was authorized by the state to offer four-year degrees in 1922, it was renamed Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College. It changed its name twice more in the next 30 years, first to Western Kentucky State Teachers College in 1930 and Western Kentucky State College in 1948. WKSC merged with Bowling Green Commerce in 1963, with the latter becoming a constituent college of WKSC. The current institutional name of [[Western Kentucky University]] was adopted in 1966.

'''1877 – Summer Normal School of the University of North Carolina'''<br />
In accordance with an act of the [[North Carolina General Assembly]], the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] opened a normal school in the summer of 1877. North Carolina was the first state in America to open a normal school under the control of an already-established university. The program was also the first university summer school in the United States. Coeducational from the beginning, it was the first example of public funds supporting education for women in North Carolina. One of the teachers, [[Emily M. Coe]], was the first female teacher of classes at the university.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Battle |first=Kemp P. |date=1912 |title=History of the University of North Carolina, Vol. II (1868–1912) |location=Raleigh |publisher=Edwards & Broughton }}</ref>

'''1879 – Sam Houston Normal Institute, Huntsville, Texas'''<br />
[[File:SHSUWelcome.jpg|thumb|Entrance at [[Sam Houston State University]], the first normal school in the [[Southwestern United States|American Southwest]] ]]

The first normal school in what is now considered the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] was opened in 1879 as Sam Houston Normal Institute (now [[Sam Houston State University]]).

'''1882 – Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (now [[Virginia State University]]) was founded, Petersburg, Virginia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vsu.edu/about/history/index.php | title=Our History }}</ref>'''

'''1884 – Louisiana State Normal School, Natchitoches, Louisiana'''<br />
From its founding in 1884 until 1944, [[Northwestern State University#History|Northwestern State University of Louisiana]] at [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] was the Louisiana State Normal School until 1918, Louisiana State Normal College from 1918 to 1944.

'''1886 – Winthrop Training School, Rock Hill, South Carolina'''

In 1886, the Peabody Education Board of Massachusetts, headed by Robert C. Winthrop, provided $1,500 to form the "Winthrop Training School" for white women teachers. That year the school opened its doors to twenty-one students in Columbia, South Carolina. Nine years later in 1895 it moved to Rock Hill. The school's name had changed in 1893 to "Winthrop Normal and Industrial College of South Carolina", reflecting its mission to prepare some students for industrial jobs.

The college was segregated until 1964. It became fully coeducational in 1974. Evolving from a ''training school'' to a college with a four-year full curriculum, it also developed a graduate division. By 1992 it reflected this development, changing its name to Winthrop University.

'''1886 – State Normal School for Colored Persons, Frankfort, Kentucky'''<br />
[[File:KYState-Frankfort1898.jpg|thumb|1898, State Normal School for Colored Persons, Frankfort, Kentucky]]
Chartered in 1886 as a state-supported school for training black teachers for the black schools of Kentucky, the school opened in 1887 with three teachers and 55 students. The school went through a series of changes of name and purpose, including becoming a [[Land-grant university|land-grant college]] in 1890, in 1902 it was renamed ''Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute for Colored Persons'', in 1926 ''Kentucky State Industrial College for Colored Persons'', in 1938 ''Kentucky State College for Negroes'', in 1952 ''Kentucky State College'', and finally in 1972 it became what it is known today as [[Kentucky State University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kysu.edu/about-ksu/history/|title=History – Kentucky State University|website=kysu.edu}}</ref>

'''1887 – Croatan Normal School, Pembroke, North Carolina'''<br />
The school was established March 7, 1887 by the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] to train [[Lumbee]] Indian teachers. Today, it is The [[University of North Carolina at Pembroke]].

'''1887 – Morehead Normal School, Morehead, Kentucky'''<br />
In 1887, Morehead Normal School was founded as a private institution in [[Morehead, Kentucky]]. It continued to operate as such until 1922, when it was taken over by the state and became Morehead State Normal School. After name changes to Morehead State Normal School and Teachers College (1926), Morehead State Teachers College (1930), and Morehead State College (1948), it adopted its current name of [[Morehead State University]] in 1966.

'''1887 – State Normal College for Colored Students, Tallahassee, Florida'''<br />
Also in 1887, the State Normal College for Colored Students was founded in [[Tallahassee, Florida]]; Tallahassee was chosen because it had the state's highest proportion of black people, having been the center of Florida's slave trade before the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The founding date reflects the [[Florida Constitution of 1885]], in effect until 1967, which prohibed racial integration in education. In 1891 the legislature changed its name to State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students, and in 1909 to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes. Today it is the [[Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University]], commonly known as FAMU.

'''1899 – Appalachian State Normal School, Boone, North Carolina'''<br />
A normal school founded as Watauga Academy in 1899, the institution was named Appalachian State Normal School in between 1925 and 1929. Today, it is known as [[Appalachian State University]] and has evolved into a comprehensive four-year university, including the Reich College of Education.

'''1906 – Eastern Kentucky State Normal School No. 1, Richmond, Kentucky'''<br />
The same Kentucky law that authorized the state to take over the school now known as Western Kentucky University (see 1876 above) also led to the creation of a second normal school in [[Richmond, Kentucky|Richmond]]. Much like the predecessor to WKU, the Richmond institution, originally known as Eastern Kentucky State Normal School No. 1, took over the campus of an earlier institution, though under somewhat different circumstances. The Eastern Normal School was established in 1906 on the former campus of Central University, an institution that had been founded in 1874 but fell into financial difficulty, and consolidated itself with [[Centre College]] in 1901. The Normal School went through several name changes in the following decades—first to Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College (1922), Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College (1930), Eastern Kentucky State College (1948), and finally [[Eastern Kentucky University]] (1966).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eku.edu/about|title=About EKU &#124; Eastern Kentucky University &#124; Eastern Kentucky University|website=www.eku.edu}}</ref>

'''1922 – Murray State Normal School, Murray, Kentucky'''<br />
A Kentucky law enacted in 1922 authorized the creation of two new state-run normal schools in addition to those already operating in Bowling Green and Richmond (the institutions now known respectively as Western Kentucky University and Eastern Kentucky University). A normal school in [[Murray, Kentucky|Murray]] was created alongside one in Morehead (now Morehead State University). Unlike the three aforementioned schools, the Murray State Normal School was created from scratch, and had no buildings of its own when it began operation. The first classes were held in 1923 at the then-current campus of [[Murray High School (Kentucky)|Murray High School]], but the Normal School soon had its own facilities. The Normal School went through several name changes in the following decades—first to Murray State Normal School and Teachers College (1922), Murray State Teachers College (1930), Murray State College (1948), and finally [[Murray State University]] (1966).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://lib.murraystate.edu/pdf/Ledger&Times_Reprint.pd|publisher=The Ledger & Times, Murray, Kentucky|date=December 11, 1970|title=The Origin of Murray State University|access-date=September 19, 2019}}</ref>