n the early and mid-1900s, the provision of affordable housing was a major obstacle to finding schoolteachers in rural North Carolina and the rest of the country. One solution was “the teacherage.” A “teacherage” is a residence, typically located near a school, that provides housing for teachers. It is often found in rural or remote areas where suitable housing for educators can be in short supply. Once there were over 3,000 teacherages in America, some which remain today. Fifteen states, including North Carolina, addressed
teacherages in their state statutes. In this presentation we look at teacherages across the nation and those in North Carolina, including those in the local area, and learn of the experiences of the teachers and matrons who called them home.
