Gerard Conservatory of Music
Elizabeth College opened in 1897 as a four year women's college under the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The aim of the institution was "to afford a broad and liberal culture for women; to furnish to young women an education in the classics, mathematics and sciences." (1) Because women did not have many options for education during this time, Elizabeth College was welcomed throughout the Charlotte community. Parents and their daughters were thrilled that they had a local school where they could become educated.(2) Charlotte offered space for the school on 20 acres of land known as the Old Torrence Homestead on a hill that overlooked the city. The Gerard Conservatory of Music was donated Charles King's brother-in-law, a tobacco magnate George W. Watts, in memory of his father. During its time, Elizabeth College was renowned for its influence on music education.
Elizabeth College was one of the first schools built in Charlotte. The efforts of administration and faculty met with a ready response in the hearts and minds of parents of young girls. The Conservatory was the most famous and important building campus. Unfortunatly, Elizabeth College only stayed open until 1915 when it moved to Salem, Virginia.
The Conservatory burned down in 1921 never to be rebuilt and the rest of the property from Elizabeth College was consolidated with Presbyterian Hospital where it served as the School of Nursing until it was demolished in 1980 to make room for a expansion to the hospital. (3)
_____________________________________________
1. William S. Powell, Encyclopedia of North Carolina (Chapel Hill: North Carolina University Press, 2006), http://ncpedia.org/elizabeth-college.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.