Frances McNeill Williamson
In my acknowledgements, I mentioned that Mrs. Flora Huff laid the groundwork for this web site with her book "Kith 'N Kin". Another lady who contributed equally as much, unknowingly, to this project was the late Frances McNeill Williamson. Mrs. Williamson loved the history of this area and collected a plethora of memorabilia pertaining to southern Robeson County.
Her son Charles is a friend of mine and several years ago he called to tell me about his pack house full of stuff that I might be interested in. When I saw it I was overwhelmed and could tell at once that there was a large part of it that did not interest me. What you see below is just a portion of what did interest me.
There are photos of elementary school classes and school teachers, downtown photos, all capturing a period where I had practically no information. Bless your heart, Mrs. Williamson, you made this project much, much better than it would have been.
Mrs. Pauline Lewis' class, 1931. Photo credit: Charles Williamson, Francis McNeill Williamson history collection, used with permission.
Miss McPhaul's class, 1931. Photo credit: Charles Williamson, Francis McNeill Williamson history collection, used with permission.
Fairmont School faculty, 1931. Photo credit: Charles Williamson, Francis McNeill Williamson history collection, used with permission.
Fairmont School faculty, no year given. T. S. Teague, superintendent on left, J.H. McRainey, principal, on right. Photo credit: Charles Williamson, Francis McNeill Williamson history collection, used with permission.
Fairmont High School under construction, 1923. Photo credit: Charles Williamson, Francis McNeill Williamson history collection, used with permission.
Fairmont High School auditorium, 1923. Photo credit: Charles Williamson, Francis McNeill Williamson history collection, used with permission.