OUR HISTORY |
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Beginning: 1925
In February 1925, Reverend Hiram Frakes observed a murder hearing in the county courtroom presided over by one of the members of his church. The judge was faced with yet another case from a notorious section of the county - the Laurel Fork Valley - aided by it's own kind of law of fear and violence. When witnesses refused once more to place the blame for certain killings, the judge could take no more. In frustration, he told the residents to "go back and kill yourselves off."
Moved by this incident, the Pineville Methodist pastor decided to shift his ministry toward these valley people. There were elementary schools of variable quality around, but the nearest high school was 30 miles away. With no land or money, Rev. Frakes made the trek and shared his dream to provide a school for all children with whoever would listen. Incredibly, the people with a proud tradition of land ownership affirmed that dream. Uncle Scott Partin gave 16 acres, Bill Henderson donated all 68 acres of his land, and several others contributed portions of their holdings.
Rev. Frakes went to his bishop, Theodore Henderson, laying the groundwork for financial support. Bertha Reil, a Deaconess and graduate of the Chicago Training School, heard about Rev. Frakes and came to be the first teacher of the school. The cabin where she stayed remains a Settlement landmark.
In February 1925, Reverend Hiram Frakes observed a murder hearing in the county courtroom presided over by one of the members of his church. The judge was faced with yet another case from a notorious section of the county - the Laurel Fork Valley - aided by it's own kind of law of fear and violence. When witnesses refused once more to place the blame for certain killings, the judge could take no more. In frustration, he told the residents to "go back and kill yourselves off."
Moved by this incident, the Pineville Methodist pastor decided to shift his ministry toward these valley people. There were elementary schools of variable quality around, but the nearest high school was 30 miles away. With no land or money, Rev. Frakes made the trek and shared his dream to provide a school for all children with whoever would listen. Incredibly, the people with a proud tradition of land ownership affirmed that dream. Uncle Scott Partin gave 16 acres, Bill Henderson donated all 68 acres of his land, and several others contributed portions of their holdings.
Rev. Frakes went to his bishop, Theodore Henderson, laying the groundwork for financial support. Bertha Reil, a Deaconess and graduate of the Chicago Training School, heard about Rev. Frakes and came to be the first teacher of the school. The cabin where she stayed remains a Settlement landmark.
FRAKES BUILDS AN INSTITUTION: 1925-1950
Following the birth of the Henderson Settlement School, a school building named Partin Hall was constructed in 1927. Shortly afterward, dormitories were added for orphans and students who lived too far to walk. Dormitory students would do laundry, milk cows, and garden before and after school and throughout the summer to help pay for their education as well as keep the Settlement going.
The community bonded together to build up Henderson Settlement, counteracting the area's reputation for moonshining and feuding. A church was established along with the school. In the 1930s, a farm (including wheat, corn, potatoes, apples, cattle, and goats), gristmill, and sawmill were also begun with Rev. Frakes leadership.
A nurse and dentist came to the Settlement. By the 1940s a new church building, Kynett Memorial, teemed with youth. The Rural Electric Authority brought electricity, and the Works Progress Administration maintained the dirt and gravel road and built a swimming pool.
The progress was made possible by the support of the Methodist Board of Missions and churches around the country through salary support for the staff and scholarships for the children. A special appeal before Christmas brought clothes and toys, beginning the Settlement's Opportunity Store and toy distribution.
Frakes raised this support by traveling to churches with the Sunbonnet Girls, a quartet of singers from the school. They even visited President Hoover at the White House in 1932. One of these singers was Mabel Henderson, daughter of the primary land donor, Bill Henderson. After graduating from the school, she went to Berea College, fulfilling her father's dream, and returned to Henderson Settlement as a teacher. In fact, five of Henderson's children graduated from the school bearing their father's name.
From 1938 through 1939 five of the seven Settlement teachers were alumni, and of the 25 total alumni, 18 had entered college. In 1950, Frakes stepped down as Superintendent. On the 25th Anniversary of the Settlement, 93 graduates could be counted while total enrollment had increased to over 300. Following World War II, enrollment at Henderson Settlement mushroomed to about 500 students. Graduating classes reached double digits. The late 1950's saw telephone service come to the Settlement and the completion of an 18-mile blacktop road to Pineville. The school was incorporated into the public school system with the mission leasing the building to the county. Also, the state licensed the Settlement for what it had been doing all along, being a childcare center.
The community bonded together to build up Henderson Settlement, counteracting the area's reputation for moonshining and feuding. A church was established along with the school. In the 1930s, a farm (including wheat, corn, potatoes, apples, cattle, and goats), gristmill, and sawmill were also begun with Rev. Frakes leadership.
A nurse and dentist came to the Settlement. By the 1940s a new church building, Kynett Memorial, teemed with youth. The Rural Electric Authority brought electricity, and the Works Progress Administration maintained the dirt and gravel road and built a swimming pool.
The progress was made possible by the support of the Methodist Board of Missions and churches around the country through salary support for the staff and scholarships for the children. A special appeal before Christmas brought clothes and toys, beginning the Settlement's Opportunity Store and toy distribution.
Frakes raised this support by traveling to churches with the Sunbonnet Girls, a quartet of singers from the school. They even visited President Hoover at the White House in 1932. One of these singers was Mabel Henderson, daughter of the primary land donor, Bill Henderson. After graduating from the school, she went to Berea College, fulfilling her father's dream, and returned to Henderson Settlement as a teacher. In fact, five of Henderson's children graduated from the school bearing their father's name.
From 1938 through 1939 five of the seven Settlement teachers were alumni, and of the 25 total alumni, 18 had entered college. In 1950, Frakes stepped down as Superintendent. On the 25th Anniversary of the Settlement, 93 graduates could be counted while total enrollment had increased to over 300. Following World War II, enrollment at Henderson Settlement mushroomed to about 500 students. Graduating classes reached double digits. The late 1950's saw telephone service come to the Settlement and the completion of an 18-mile blacktop road to Pineville. The school was incorporated into the public school system with the mission leasing the building to the county. Also, the state licensed the Settlement for what it had been doing all along, being a childcare center.
THE "TEX" EVANS ERA: 1953-1966
The next major era of Henderson Settlement was under the leadership of Glenn "Tex" Evans, Superintendent from 1953-1966. Evans brought financial stability and physical repairs to the facilities. The agricultural program was revitalized and tree management practices were introduced. Rev. Carrie Ovall began a craft store in 1955 for local students and adults to market their skills. Around that time, a work camp program with youth and adults coming for part of the summer to help with projects on the Settlement grounds took off. Evans later used his experience at Henderson Settlement to begin the Appalachia Service Project
THE EMPHASIS SHIFTS: 1967- 1980
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Henderson Settlement became a partner with the federal government in the war on poverty. The foot soldier of this war, the social worker, became part of the Henderson Settlement staff. The Settlement was an incubator and participant in community groups that spawned the Laurel Fork Health Clinic and the Frakes Volunteer Fire Department. This model has been repeated in the 1990s and was successful in securing public water in 2001. New programs included a library, the raising of feeder pigs, and early childhood development.
GROWING PAINS: 1980s
For more than fifty years the center of the Frakes/Henderson Settlement Community was the school. Since the closing of the school there has been an extensive study to determine the new center of the community. The Community needs were offered: Adult Education classes, GED classes are being taught, bookmobile, recreation, Thrift Store, crafts, Christmas, macramé class.
Since the way of travel had become easier in the Laurel Fork Valley, less children were needing to live in the dorms. They could travel by bus. This opened up for more child care, children with problems who were brought here to live. Then Henderson Settlement was helping children from Lexington and Louisville not from Frakes area. The Community saw this as a problem in the area.
Community people also felt that people away from here were getting jobs at Henderson Settlement which should be the local people getting jobs to make a living.
Since the way of travel had become easier in the Laurel Fork Valley, less children were needing to live in the dorms. They could travel by bus. This opened up for more child care, children with problems who were brought here to live. Then Henderson Settlement was helping children from Lexington and Louisville not from Frakes area. The Community saw this as a problem in the area.
Community people also felt that people away from here were getting jobs at Henderson Settlement which should be the local people getting jobs to make a living.
1990s
As the Settlement shifted its emphasis from Child Care and Education, they began to focus more heavily on improving the housing situation in the community. Thus, the growth of their Work Camp program. First, and primarily, it serves as an opportunity to educate persons in mission and the needs that exist among the less fortunate in our society. Secondly, Work Camp often serves as the bridge between dreams and reality for families of the Laurel Fork Valley of southeastern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, while giving groups the opportunity to witness for Christ through home repair. The Frakes campus is open year around for Work Camp opportunities, and the White Oak, TN facility (which opened in the summer of 2001, and is 17 miles from the main campus in Frakes, KY) is open during the summer months.
At the main campus in Frakes, over 200 Work Camp participants can be housed at any given time, in the Dormitory or in a private house with several bedrooms. The White Oak Center can accommodate up to 48 people, dormitory style with a Dining Hall in between the male and female rooms. Work teams for both locations are scheduled through the Work Camp Office at Henderson Settlement.
In addition to its Work Camp ministry, which utilizes volunteers from across the United States and Canada, the Settlement also hosts the following ministries:
VOLUNTEERS AND DONORS come in all sizes, shapes and ages at Henderson Settlement! Volunteers can serve for a day, a week, a month or years, and can assist in pretty much any ministry across the campus. Those serving for a month or more, are eligible to receive free meals and housing. Volunteer applications can be obtained by contacting Henderson Settlement at 606/337-3613 or by visiting their website at www.hendersonsettlement.com. Donors may contribute financially to the Settlement by check, bank wire or on-line. They can also contribute by hosting fund-raisers, collecting good, clean and usable items for the Opportunity Store, by shopping at our Amazon Wish List and by including the Settlement in your will or life insurance directives. Above all else, please PRAY for the Settlement! We want to seek, know and do God’s Will in this beautiful area of HIS creation!
At the main campus in Frakes, over 200 Work Camp participants can be housed at any given time, in the Dormitory or in a private house with several bedrooms. The White Oak Center can accommodate up to 48 people, dormitory style with a Dining Hall in between the male and female rooms. Work teams for both locations are scheduled through the Work Camp Office at Henderson Settlement.
In addition to its Work Camp ministry, which utilizes volunteers from across the United States and Canada, the Settlement also hosts the following ministries:
- ANNUAL HOME BUILD (for a chosen community member in need of decent housing for their family; the Settlement is now in the process of building Home #39 in 2022. Volunteers dedicate 1 to 6 weeks of their time to build the complete house at different intervals during the summer and participate in fund-raising for the entire cost of the home.)
- YOUTH PROGRAMS (for community youth of all ages, including after-school tutoring, summer recreation programs, youth groups and educational and fun trips out of the community)
- SENIOR SUPPORT (for community seniors, including meal deliveries, social visits, an on-site Senior Center, opportunities to sell their crafts in our local Craft Store and weekly devotions on site)
- CRAFT STORE (for community crafters, including our Seniors, Women’s Group and other locals); provides an outlet to sell locally made crafts to our workcampers and the general public)
- OPPORTUNITY STORE (for community members to purchase clothing, toys, appliances and household items of all kinds at a greatly reduced cost. For instance, most items of clothing are $1.00 or less! All items sold in the store are donated by our supporters)
- CATTLE FARM (Beef cattle are raised to sell and to supplement the food supply in our dining hall, which feeds the staff and the workcampers, as well as some community members.)
- GREENHOUSE (The Greenhouse provides fresh produce to the local Christian College, as well as providing flowers and vegetable plants for sell to the local community)
- GROW APPALACHIA PROGRAM (Teaches and assists local families to grow their own produce to feed their families. This program is financed by an annual grant from Berea College)
- MIHOW (MATERNAL INFANT HEALTH OUTREACH WORKER) (Provides a baby pantry, child development education and mentoring for young families in the community, all free of charge. Also includes a home visitation program for pregnant women and young families)
- OTHER COMMUNITY SUPPORT & OUTREACH (Provides monetary and social support for the community by way of a Food Pantry, budgeting help, financial help for utility bills, hosts a women’s group and assists with transportation to medical appointments)
VOLUNTEERS AND DONORS come in all sizes, shapes and ages at Henderson Settlement! Volunteers can serve for a day, a week, a month or years, and can assist in pretty much any ministry across the campus. Those serving for a month or more, are eligible to receive free meals and housing. Volunteer applications can be obtained by contacting Henderson Settlement at 606/337-3613 or by visiting their website at www.hendersonsettlement.com. Donors may contribute financially to the Settlement by check, bank wire or on-line. They can also contribute by hosting fund-raisers, collecting good, clean and usable items for the Opportunity Store, by shopping at our Amazon Wish List and by including the Settlement in your will or life insurance directives. Above all else, please PRAY for the Settlement! We want to seek, know and do God’s Will in this beautiful area of HIS creation!
Bill Henderson
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First School House
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