History of Lees-McRae College

“Banner’s Elk,” as the village was once called, is said to have been settled around 1850. By the end of the century, the Presbyterian Church was becoming established in the area. In the summer of 1895, Concord Presbytery sent a young student from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia to organize a church at Banner Elk. In 1897, the newly ordained Rev. Edgar Tufts returned as pastor of the church.

In the winter of 1899, concerned with the limited offerings of the district school, Tufts took some of the young people of the neighborhood into his study for further instruction. This small group, called the Class of 1900, marks the beginning of Lees-McRae College.

Tufts saw that this effort was not enough and that there was a need for a boarding school, especially for the girls of the mountain region. In 1900, a frame dormitory for 14 girls and one teacher opened after a small amount of money was raised and labor and lumber were promised. The school was named the McRae Institute, after the prominent local teacher Mrs. Elizabeth A. McRae. When a department for boys opened at Plumtree, Tufts added the name of Mrs. Susanna P. Lees, who had been a generous benefactor. The Lees-McRae Institute was chartered by the state in 1907, and Tufts remained to serve the community until his death in 1923.

In 1927, a fire consumed the Plumtree buildings, and the unit moved to Banner Elk. Lees-McRae Institute became Lees-McRae College in 1931, gradually eliminating the high school department to form an accredited, coeducational junior college. In 1987, the Board of Trustees of Lees-McRae College voted to seek senior college status. In June of 1990, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted Lees-McRae status as a senior (four-year) college.

To complement its four-year academic programs, Lees-McRae began offering degree completion programs in the early 2000s. The 2+2 programs enable students with existing associate degrees to complete their education at the baccalaureate level either online or at an off-campus location. In 2018, the college added its first graduate program—a Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Education.

In 2022, the college doubled the size of its campus with the addition of South Campus at Grandfather Home. Grandfather Home for Children was also founded by Tufts, and the unification of the two properties brought his legacy full circle.

More than a hundred years after its founding, Lees-McRae continues the vision of the Rev. Tufts, inspiring students of the Southern Appalachian region and beyond. The college extends educational opportunities and service to diverse populations and continues to fulfill its motto—In the Mountains, Of the Mountains, For the Mountains.