Strieby Congregational Church, School, & Cemetery Cultural Heritage Site

Overview

Strieby Congregational Church, School, & Cemetery Cultural Heritage Site was first established in 1880. It is located at 5480 Strieby Church Road, in Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina. The church was founded by the Rev. Islay Walden (known as the “Blind Poet of North Carolina”) as the First Congregational Church of Randolph County, then renamed Promised Land Church. In 1883, after the acquisition of a post office, the church, school, cemetery, and community became known as “Strieby.” Although not a separate postal zone today, the area is still referred to by descendants of the original community (most of whom were Free People of Color) and community residents as Strieby.

Contemporary Strieby Church, Photo by Marvin T. Jones

Historic Timeline

Reconstruction-Era National Historic Network

2023

Black Cemetery Network

2022

United for Libraries Literary Landmark

2022

Randolph County, NC, Cultural Heritage Site

2014

Old Strieby Church replaced

1972

Purchase of Land for First Congregational Church of Randolph County

1880

The Rev. Islay Walden

When Islay Walden returned to the Lassiter’s Mill postal area of southwestern Randolph County, North Carolina, after receiving his teaching credentials from Howard University, in Washington, DC, and his theological training from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, in New Jersey, he established a Congregational church and “common school,” as American Missionary Association (AMA) one or two teacher schools were called, in an area in the Uwharrie Mountains called “Hill Town.” Although education and the ministry were his passions, he was widely known for his poetry, having published two books of poetry, Miscellaneous Poems, Which the Author Desires to Dedicate to the Cause of Education and Humanity, and Walden’s Sacred Poems, with a Sketch of His Life.

The Rev.Islay Walden

“Promised Land,” The First Congregational Church of Randolph County

Walden’s church was identified as the First Congregational Church of Randolph County, when the six-acre property on which the church stands today was first purchased in May 1880.[5] In October, when the first building was built, it was christened, “Promised Land Church.”

Promised Land Church

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“If a church in the South is named First Congregational and was founded during Reconstruction, it is generally a predominantly black church started by the AMA.”[6]

DeBoer, C. M. (2015)

“A gracious revival and a meeting-house under way are the fruits of the first six months of the life of this church.”[12]

Strieby School

Rev. Islay Walden was passionate about education. The first church building, built in the spring of 1880, was also used as the school. He was its first teacher. In 1881, he married Elinora Wilhelmina Farmer whom he had met in New Jersey while in seminary. She became the principal teacher at Strieby.

After Islay Walden died in 1884, his cousin, Henry Ruffin Walden, a student at Hampton Institute, who had been teaching at nearby Salem Church School, came to Strieby to become its principal. Elinora also continued as teacher and youth leader. Henry and Elinora married in 1888 and continued to teach the young people of Hill Town/Strieby and nearby communities, such as the one at Lassiter Mill. In the same year, a separate school building was built at Strieby. Elinora died in 1892. Henry Ruffin Walden remarried and moved away in the early 1900s.

In 1905, a larger building was built. It was intended to provide a home for an expanded school. The plan was to become a graded school and normal (secondary) school. However, only the first story was completed. By the 1920s, the community dynamics had changed as people began to find work in the factories outside the community or moved to northern cities in search of better opportunities. A dwindling population caused the trustees to recommend consolidation with other nearby schools for children of color at Salem and Red House. In the 1930s the school was absorbed by the public school system and Strieby School was no more.

The Impact of Strieby School

The impact of Strieby School on the community cannot be overstated. According to the 1870 census, there were only 4 independent households of families of color in Union Township, containing 21 individuals. In 1880, when the Rev. Islay Walden first started the church and school, Hill Town, in Union Township, had grown to 10 families containing 60 people. Already 13 children were attending school. By the 1900 census, the community included 21 families, containing 101 people, with 33 children in school. In 1920, just before the consolidation of the Strieby, Salem, and Red House schools, out migration left 14 families, with 68 individuals. Nevertheless, all 15 children at Strieby, who were school age were in school, and the entire adult population of 52 could read, with only one person marked as unable to write. This was a remarkable achievement for a rural African American community at the time.

Cultural Heritage Site Designation

In 2014, Strieby was named a Cultural Heritage Site by the Randolph County Historic Landmark Preservation Commission.

Strieby Congregational Church, School, & Cemetery Cultural Heritage and Literary Landmark Site

The Cemetery

Buried along with Islay Walden and his wife, Eleanora/Elinora Farmer Walden, in Strieby Cemetery, are church founding members and schoolteachers. There are also 10 veterans spanning World War I to the Vietnam War.