On March 28, 1880, Körner’s Folly opened to the public.
Furniture designer, decorator and painter Jule Gilmer Körner began construction on the building in 1878 as a showcase for his work. He continually added new designs to the house, and when he died in 1924 renovation plans were found on his drawing table.
On March 22, 1892, Charlie Poole, banjoist extraordinaire and founder of the old–time music pioneers known as the North Carolina Ramblers, was born in Randolph County.
On February 3, 1983, Henry Frye was sworn in as North Carolina’s first African-American Supreme Court Justice. Governor Jim Hunt appointed Frye as an associate justice. Then, in 1999, in another first, Hunt named Frye to the unexpired term of retiring Chief Justice Burley Mitchell. After Frye lost his bid for a full term as chief justice in 2000, he retired, having served on the state’s top tribunal for more than 17 years.
On September 1, 1898, Carl Schenck opened the nation’s first school of forestry.
The school has its roots in 1895 when George Vanderbilt, who had just completed the Biltmore House, hired German-born Schenck to manage and restore his vast woodland properties.
On September 3, 1912, Beulah Henry, later nicknamed “Lady Edison,” received her first patent while living in Charlotte.
The invention, a vacuum ice cream freezer, was followed the next year by improvements to the handbag and parasol.
Although she attended Queens and Elizabeth Colleges in Charlotte, Beulah Louise Henry never had formal training in mechanics or technology. However, the prolific designer received 49 patents and is credited with over 100 inventions.
On October 2, 1894, the North Carolina School for the Deaf opened with 104 students and eight teachers. The first superintendent was Edward McKee Goodwin, who served in that position until his death in 1937.