In the early 1900s, advocates for the creation of what would become High Point College were men and women of the Western North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church who wanted a new church-sponsored college and citizens of the city of High Point who wanted a college for their seemingly ever-growing town. The commonly quoted version of the College’s history can be found on the University’s website and states: “[the Annual Conference] accepted an offer from the thriving city of High Point to contribute 60 acres of land and $100,000 to the project. Classes began in September 1924, even as the finishing touches were still being added to the original buildings.” This is an accurate account but does not touch on the Methodist leadership’s lengthy debate preceding the opening of this new college.
- These books cover the history of High Point University’s predecessor, Yadkin College:
Yadkin College as I Knew It, 1890-1900 by James E. Holmes
Country College on the Yadkin: A Historical Narrative by Virginia C. Fick
- These campus histories detail the development and early years of High Point College:
A Brief History of the First Twenty-five Years of High Point College by Dr. J.E. Pritchard
No Easy Task: The First Fifty Years of High Point College by William R. Locke
Remembered Be Thy Blessings: High Point University – the college years, 1924 – 1991 by Richard B. McCaslin
Report of the National Commission on the Future of High Point College (1990)
A College Comes of Age: A Report on 21 Years of Progress at High Point College (1959-1980) by Wendell M. Patton
- These histories pertain to the Methodist Protestant Church as they relate to High Point College and University:
History of the North Carolina Annual Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church. Greensboro by James Elwood Carroll, 1939
Methodist Protestant Church in North Carolina by Paul Strayer Kennett, 1927
History of the Methodist Protestant Children’s Home, 1910-1935 by Mabel Williams Russell, 1935
- This book traces the more recent history of High Point University: High Point University, Our Faithful Transformation, 2005-2020