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Burwell School
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| Location: | N. Churton Street Hillsborough, North Carolina |
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| Area: | 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) |
| Built: | 1837 |
| Architectural style: | Federal |
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 70000465[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | September 15, 1970 |
The Burwell School historic site, located in Hillsborough, North Carolina, was first built in 1821 bu Capt. John Berry, a carpenter in the area. In 1835, Hillsborough Presbyterian Church bought the property for use as a parsonage. That same year, the Reverend Robert Burwell, his wife, Margaret Anna Burwell, and his two oldest children, Mary and John Bott, moved into the parsonage. They also brought a young slave girl named Elizabeth Hobbes, later Elizabeth Keckly, who purchased her freedom and became the dressmaker and confidante of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.[2]
Two years later, James Webb approached Mrs. Burwell and asked her to educate his daughters.[3] She agreed, and opened a school for young ladies in her home. The school ran from 1837 to 1857, and enrolled more than 200 girls over those twenty years.[4] Both Mr. and Mrs. Burwell taught at this school, as did a few members of the surrounding community and students who had completed the curriculim.[2]
In 1857, Mr. Burwell had the opportunity to help establish the Charlotte Female Institute in Charlotte, NC, which is now known as Queens College.[2]
In the years that followed, two notable families lived on the site: the Collins family from Edenton, NC, and the Spurgeon Family, who were descendants of one of the Burwells' students. In 1964, the Historic Hillsborough Commission bought the property from the Spurgeon family and restored it to appear historically accurate for the antebellum period. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is open to the public for tours and events.[5]
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