Gregory Normal School

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Gregory Normal School was a segregated high school for African American students in Wilmington, North Carolina. It opened in 1868, after the Civil War, and operated until 1921. It was the first school in Wilmington to admit African American students. The school was also known as Wilmington Normal School and later Gregory Normal Institute. It began when eight Protestant missionaries from New England organized the Wilmington Normal School with sponsorship from the American Missionary Association. The school prepared students to continue their studies in colleges and universities. In 1883 it was renamed Gregory Normal Institute to honor James J. H. Gregory of Marblehead, Massachusetts, who donated funds. Classes ended at this site in 1921. The nearby Gregory Congregational Church (now Gregory Congregational United) still exists. A nearby public elementary school is named Gregory School.