The collection is arranged into three parts:

Part 1:

Consists of records and documents compiled by Berea College Library staff as a result of the College’s close working relationship with the settlement school, especially during the administrations of Berea Presidents, William J. Hutchins and Francis S. Hutchins. These records relate to the history and mission of the Pine Mountain Settlement School, especially in the early 20th century.

Part 1 of the collection is comprised of nine series:

Series 1 – Correspondence

Series 2 - Progress Reports 1913 -1971

Series 3 - Line Fork Settlement Notes

Series 4 - Essays and Stories [1920s-1940s]

Series 5 - Calendars

Series 6 - Printed Material 1919 - 1977

Series 7 - Newspaper Clippings, 1922 - 1975

Series 8 - Miscellaneous

Series 9 - Photographs [1920s-1930s]

Part 2:

Part 2 of the Pine Mountain Settlement School Collection is comprised of records (1) transferred to the Archives on March 3, 1977 from the Berea College Office of the President, (2) donated to the Archives by Pat Wear, and (3) donated to the Archives by the family of Martha Pride.

Files transferred from the Berea College Office of the President consist primarily of correspondence, reports, and Board of Trustee meeting minutes relating to the settlement school’s operation that were compiled by Berea President Francis S. Hutchins while serving on the Pine Mountain Board of Trustees, 1943-1967. They provide a general record of the settlement school’s operation during these years and, in particular, document the Berea—Pine Mountain affiliation during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Records donated to the collection by Pat Wear and Martha Pride, both of whom served on the Pine Mountain Board of Trustees, consist primarily of correspondence, reports, meeting minutes and agendas, and publications relating to the settlement school’s operation from the 1970s into the early 2000’s.

The records of Pat Wear and Martha Pride were processed into Part 2 of the collection in October of 2015. The finding aid was updated to reflect the addition of these records.

Part 2 of the collection is comprised of seven series:

Series 1 - Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

Series 2 - Berea College / Pine Mountain Affiliation

Series 3 - Board of Trustees Minutes and/or Agendas

Series 4 - Financial Reports and Audits

Series 5 - Correspondence

Series 6 – School Survey Reports, Reports and Projects

Series 7 - Publicity, Publications, and Printed Matter

Part 3:

Part three of the collection consists of materials relating to the nativity play performed at the school for a number of years and a set of photographic negatives that document various aspects of the schools early history.

Part 3 is comprised of two series:

Series 1 - Nativity Play

Series 2 - Photographic Negatives

Pine Mountain Settlement School was founded in 1913, by Katherine Pettit and Ethel de Long. The two women received ninety-five acres of land from William Creech for the purpose of providing educational opportunities for the people of the Pine Mountain area of Harlan County, Kentucky.

Petit and de Long modeled their program after Jane Adam’s Hull House in Chicago. They hoped that their modern ideas about health, nutrition, work efficiency, farm management, and the cultural value of indigenous crafts would permeate the surrounding communities -- both through children and direct contact with adults.

Community outreach programs included a hospital and medical clinics that provided vaccinations, trachoma, dental, and maternity care. Health education was carried on in rural schools and extension centers that also offered homemaker’s groups, community recreation, and Sunday Schools.

Initially, the educational program included a boarding grade school that was followed by a high school program in the 1920s. The grade school was closed in the 1930s and the high school continued until 1949.

In addition to regular academic subjects, students were involved in traditional music, dance activities, and a labor program that helped run the school and develop useful skills. In the 1930s the curriculum was revised to focus mainly on trade professions and skills for rural community living. In 1949, the boarding program ended and Pine Mountain became part of the Harlan County school system. Since the 1960s, and as late as 2003, the school has operated an environmental education program serving a wide variety of school age and adult groups.