Carl McIntire in Weekender for Clarion Ledger-Jackson Daily wrote - "....Nearby [Bethany Presbyterian Church] was the Bethany Institute, established in 1859 and for many years the seat of learning for a wide section ot the state."

Today only one building of the original institute campus, that served as the girls’ dormitory, remains. The old dorm is being converted into a home by its present owners, Mr. And Mrs. W. D. Aldridge, and has a charm all its own.

It is said that the same man who built the Bethany church in 1855 also built the school and two dorms for the institute. He carefully selected and cut timber on the acreage and used only perfect boards.

The site for the school was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James M. Gallent and included 25 acres. T. H. Faxton opened the school to boys and girls and his pupils were invariably good in Latin and Greek, old records indicate. These also acknowledge that ‘he wore out a cart load of beech switches from around the schoolhouse teaching them their classics.’

When the school was built it was a 20 by 40-foot frame structure. Nearby were the two dormitories. The remaining girls’ dorm is 33- by 55-feet with four rooms on each of two floors, each room with its own fireplace.

The kitchen and dining room were separate buildings in the rear and these too, are gone. They have been replaced by the Aldridges with a long, covered porch and store room at the far end. [I was told Aunt Lizzie had a similar arrangement when she lived there.] This is a breezy spot which looks out over a verdant yard where bushes that were growing when the students made their home there are still blooming. [A little stretch of the imagination - but Aunt Lizzie was a real gardener providing flowers for Bethany Church for numerous years. She grew a variant of the Formosa azalea with better growing habits. She gave us one as a wedding gift.]..........There was a strange thing in their favor --strange for a structure of its era. It had closets! One of these became the bathroom when the Aldridges obtained a pump and could then use the old well....The Aldridges have been careful to maintain the original character of the house and preserve some of its finer features, and make their restoration historically correct.

The property includes a barn, said to have been built from the timbers of the former boys’ dorm, which was 90 feet long with 15- by 18-foot rooms across the front. A cyclone destroyed the structure in 1934, leaving the boards scattered over a wide area.

In its heyday, which lasted several decades, Bethany Institute drew its students from a wide area. In 1881 the primary department’s tuition, board and room and all expenses, totaled $12 per month. If higher English was studied it cost 50 cents more and for the classics there was an additional $1 fee.

An article in a local paper in 1886 spoke of the elegance of the buildings and accomplishments of the principal, Prof Reece Jones.

The school was sold in 1916 to Mrs. E. A. Y. Dixon, [Aunt Lizzie Gallent Dixon] who made her home there. Her heirs sold it in 1963 to Dorotha Lou Lowe Jackson [the lady who sold the property we passed on our way from the Hazlewood Cemetery to Ariel area] and it was she who sold it to the Aldridges in 1972. [Aldridges are deceased and house for sale.] Some of the other teachers at the institute have included a Mr. Godlet, Mr. And Mrs. Hall, Prof. Hanna, Eudora Gallent, and Nellie Thompson of Cape May, N. J, a music teacher

CONVEYANCE RECORD 14, PAGE 407

J M GALLENT AND WIFE TO TRUSTEES BETHANY INSTITUTE

The State of Mississippi }

Amite County } Know all men by these presents that we James M Gallent and Jane C. Gallent his wife of the State and County aforesaid for and in consideration of the sum of one Dollar to us in hand paid the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged have given bargained and sold unto the Board of Trustees of the Bethany Institute consisting of the following named persons viz William Hughes, W A Daniels, J. W. Anderson ,A M Smiley, A S. Caston, E J Capell, R P. Smiley and J. M Gallent and their successors in office a certain tract or parcel of land known and described as follows viz. Commencing at a stake in the center of the road leading from Liberty to Woodville at the East end of Mrs. J. H. Dixon's lane on the Sec. line of 41 & 42 running North and South from which there is a white oak South 55 degrees East 55 links thence South on said Sec line 11 chains and 50 links to a stake, a white Oak 30 links, also a Beech 32 links thence east 17 chains 32 links to a stake a Bull Bay 32 links also a Holly 10 links thence north 7 chains and 94 links to a stake near a Spring a Holly 17 links & Bull Bay 34 links thence North 34 degress West 14 chains and 64 links to a stake in the center of said Woodville & Liberty Roads a Bull Bay 44 links and Beech 20 links thence South & West along the center of said Road to place of beginning containing twenty five acres the said tract being a part of the NW/4 of Section 42 T2 R2 East to have and to hold the said tract of Land to the said Board of Trustees and their successors in office foreve, And the aforesaid J. M & Jane Gallent will warrant and defend the title to the aforesaid tract of Land to the said Board of Trustees and their successors in Office against the lawful claims of all persons whatsoever forever. In testimony whereof the said J. M. & Jane C. Gallent have hereunto set their hands and seals this the 21st day of August in the year of our Lord 1867.

J. M. Gallent {Seal}

J. C. Gallent {Seal}

*Information submitted by Eva Frances Phares. Photo of the restored school can be found in the "Amite" album.