The college officially opened in 1858 on July 15th with almost 50 students. In 1859, when the school was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly, seventy women were enrolled, and in 1860, eighty-eight. In 1861, the philosophy of the college was stated as follows: "Pupils will not be hurried through a superficial course of study, but such a systemized plan pursued, as is well calculated to lead to gradual and complete development of all the powers of the mind." The curriculum included an array of classes in English, history, math, geography, biology, botany, anatomy & physiology, Latin, modern languages, and religion.  Art and music were special strengths. This was at a time when a full college education for women in the United States was still a relative rarity. The school also offered three "preparatory" (high school) grades.

In a Lenoir Topic article on Feb. 22, 1877, in the context of soliciting rebuilding funds, the writer observed that "It is well known that there has been an annual average of nearly $10,000 in actual money put in circulation in our midst by this school. This money has found its way to every class of our citizens -- from the humblest colored woman who washes garments of the pupils -- from the boys who chop fire-wood or hunt hen eggs -- to the most influential men of our day who sell their bacon and flour by the thousand pounds, or who teach the mysteries of science." At a related town meeting, a unanimous resolution was passed, "Resolved, That the thanks of the community are due the colored people of this town for the zeal and earnestness with which they worked at the fire, in trying to save the Boarding House and in securing the furniture." (Nearly all that furniture was saved.)

   
Left to right: Davenport College's new 1877 Main Building; the full campus after 1926; and a 1908 student postcard to a friend, "This is where I stay. How do you like the look of the place? This is not a good picture though,
I can't show you my room from this side."  
(Click on images for larger versions.) 

The Statesville Christian Herald on July 6, 1897 mentioned that "The school is now open to males as well as females" [since 1893], and in 1915, the name of the school was changed from Davenport Female College to Davenport College. However, boys were welcomed only in the preparatory classes, and there is no record of any males ever earning a degree from the school.

"Davenport College meant much to Lenoir and the county as a whole, culturally and socially, offering lectures and concerts that would never, otherwise, have been afforded to a town so small. Even more important, it provided an advanced education for girls and boys who would never [otherwise] have obtained it. Everyone [in the surrounding area] attended the college affairs, which were the highlight of social affairs.  Commencement or graduation exercises drew great crowds of people, and hotels and boarding houses overflowed in those days." (Nancy Alexander's Here Will I Dwell: the Story of Caldwell County, p. 164.)

By the early 1900s, electric lights, steam heat, city water and sewage connections were installed. Enrollment rose to 165. In 1904, tuition was $55/semester which included all classes, room and board, and all other related fees. (Although determining the current equivalent "value" of 1904's $55 is complicated, somewhere around $8,600 seems realistic.)

   
From a 1920's picture catalog: May Queen ceremony, Cornelius Hall (built in 1914), and the Cornelius Hall library.
  (Click on images for larger versions.)

In 1932 the Western North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church recommended that Davenport College, then in financial difficulties related to the 1930s Depression, merge with Greensboro College (also a women's school), proposing "That Davenport College be merged with Greensboro College so as to conserve and protect all endowments of Davenport..." As preparations were made for the merger, Davenport closed its doors in 1933. The amalgamation was completed in 1938.  The physical campus became the property of Lenoir City Schools.

The main building of the Davenport campus was leveled in 1946 to make room for the construction of Davenport Elementary School; and Cornelius Hall was razed in 1986 after falling into disrepair. Today, the one surviving Davenport College building houses the Caldwell Heritage Museum. That last building had been constructed in 1926 to house a dining room and kitchen, home economics and science labs, an art studio, and music practice rooms. It was used by the Lenoir Schools as a music practice building until the middle of the 1980's. It opened as a museum in 1991.