The story
Lees–McRae College was founded in Banner Elk as an all-female high school in 1899 by the Reverend Edgar Tufts, a Presbyterian minister. He named the school "The Elizabeth McRae Institute" after a well-respected educator in 1900. The name of school benefactor Suzanna Lees was added in 1903, and the school became "The Lees–McRae Institute" when it was chartered by the state in 1907.
An all-male branch was founded in 1907 in nearby Plumtree, North Carolina. The Plumtree facility was destroyed in a 1927 fire, leading the two campuses to merge at the Banner Elk site. After the merger, the high school program was phased out, and in 1931 the institute was renamed "Lees–McRae College" as an accredited, coeducational junior college.
Lees–McRae began moving toward offering a four-year program in the late 1980s, and the school's president made the recommendation to the board of trustees in 1987. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted Lees–McRae status as a four-year college in 1990. In 2005, Lees–McRae became the first expansion site for New Opportunity School for Women, a program that helps educate and employ women in Appalachia.
From Wikipedia’s article on Lees–McRae College, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4