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WILLIAM HOOPER COUNCILL 
William Hooper Councill was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1848. His parents were both slaves on the Councill plantation. When he was five years old, his father escaped to Canada and to freedom. However, William, his mother and his brother, Cicero, were sold to slave traders, who in turn sold them on in 1859 to Judge David C. Humphreys of Huntsville. Two other brothers were sold separately.
During the Civil War, it is believed that Councill escaped through Union lines to the North, returning to Alabama in 1865 to attend a school for freedmen which had been started by a Quaker. He worked and studied for three years before graduating in 1867. He began work as a teacher and then in 1869, at the age of just 22, he opened Lincoln School in Huntsville with 36 students. Councill received a salary of just $31. Between 1872 and 1874, he was chief enrolling clerk for the Alabama Legislature. After unsuccessfully running for the legislature himself, he was offered the federal position of "Receiver of Lands for North Alabama", which he turned down in order to become the prinicipal of Huntsville Colored Schools. In 1873, the "Colored Normal School at Huntsville" which is now known as Alabama A&M University was founded by the State Legislature. The school opened on May 1, 1875 with an appropriation of $1,000, and with Councill as the first school president. The intention of the school was to train black teachers to work in Alabama's segregated school system. Between 1877 and 1884, Councill published and edited the Huntsville Herald. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1883. He also founded St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1885 and had three books published. His main work however concerned his school, which at the time of opening had just 61 students. During the 35 years that he was there, it changed it's name twice, eventually becoming the "State Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes". In 1890, the school relocated to its present location, north of Huntsville, which enabled the school to grow so that at the turn of the century, it had a student body of more than 400. It presently has almost 7,000 students. William Hooper Councill died on April 9, 1909, at the age of 61. His funeral was attended by an estimated 5,000 people and the Montgomery Advertiser described him as "the greatest Negro that the race has ever produced". Links To Other William Hooper Councill Internet Resources: Alabama A&M University. The African America Registry - A man of many talents, William Councill. The Huntsville Times - William Hooper Councill: A&M founder deserves fame for other roles, too. SIGN UP TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER If you would like us to keep you updated with changes and improvements to thatsalabama.com, please enter your email address here: If you would like to support thatsalabama.com with a donation via paypal, please click on this button: |
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