The seeds that would lead to Ferrum College were sown in the early 1900s. In 1909, the Virginia Conference Woman’s Home Missionary Society (VCWHMS) of the United Methodist Church wrote Dr. Benjamin Beckham to report the VCWHMS had $1,200 for starting “a school for mountain boys and girls, in a remote place, yet accessible, where the need seemed the greatest.” Many young people in the Blue Ridge had no practical access to public education, and even where rural schools did exist, attendance was often poor. In 1929—16 years after Ferrum’s founding—an estimated 17,000 school-age children were still not attending school in the five-county area around Ferrum.
By the end of 1913, Ferrum Training School’s Board of Trustees was in place, and 80 acres of George Goode’s tomato farm had been purchased. Construction began on the Principal’s House (now Stratton House), the White Cottage (now Spilman-Daniel House), and the first phase of John Wesley Hall. Hired as Ferrum Training School’s principal, Dr. Beckham moved onto campus in June 1914. School was set to begin in September.
One of Ferrum’s initial stated purposes was “the training of young people for country life.” Students received standard high school instruction in math, science, English, and history. Boys also took agricultural science, and girls studied domestic science (later referred to as “home economics”). Most students had an eye toward careers in business, the ministry, church mission work, or teaching. The school’s first graduate—Berta Thompson, Class of 1917—went on to teach in Virginia public schools for years.
Christianity was certainly a key part of the curriculum, but Ferrum Training School did not push the views of any particular Christian denomination. Students took daily Bible study, and “the Bible [was] taught in some way in every trade.”
Ferrum added its first junior college-level courses for the fall term of 1926, and without any recruiting, 18 students enrolled for the junior college program.
John A. Carter, a former Franklin County school teacher, served as president for less than a year before Dr. James A. Chapman took the reins in 1935. Ferrum Training School—Ferrum Junior College became the school’s legal name in 1940. The Ferrum Training School portion of the name was dropped in 1948, though students could earn a high school diploma at Ferrum until 1954.
Upon Dr. Chapman’s resignation in 1943, Rev. Luther J. Derby ’20, a Ferrum alumnus, was selected as the fourth president. He, in turn, was followed by another alumnus, Dr. Nathaniel H. Davis ’24, in 1948. Rev. Stanley R. Emrich assumed the presidency of Ferrum Junior College in 1953.
Dr. C. Ralph Arthur, a visionary on the scale of Dr. Beckham, became Ferrum Junior College’s seventh president in 1954. Dr. Arthur inspired lenders and donors alike to embrace the Ferrum mission and help transform the school physically and academically. Amid a healthy national economy and a steadily growing population of college-age men and women, Ferrum Junior College set about reinventing itself, all the while keeping focus on its mission to serve students in need.
Dr. Arthur set Ferrum on a remarkable course of campus modernization and expansion, and construction crews were a constant presence for most of his 16-year tenure. New buildings included Riddick Hall, Franklin Hall, Susannah Wesley Hall, Swartz Gymnasium, Chapman Hall, Garber Hall, Bassett Hall, Stanley Library, and Vaughn Chapel—all designed in a mid-20th-century, institutionally modern style.
Selected as Dr. Arthur’s successor, Dr. Joseph Hart took office in 1971, the same year Ferrum College became the school’s official name. Under Dr. Hart’s watch, the College underwent exciting developments in both academics and community service. A wave of new young faculty came to Ferrum, the environmental science program was created (one of the first in the nation), and the Museum of Mountain Lore (later the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum) opened. The Jack Tale Players began performing in 1975 and celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2025. Most importantly, Ferrum College implemented the 2+2 academic structure, offering both associate’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees, and in 1976, Ferrum’s first four-year diploma was awarded to graduating senior Martha Arnold. Fifty years later, Martha Arnold Phillips, still a resident of Ferrum, was honored at the 110th Commencement Ceremony on May 2, 2026.
Dr. Jerry Boone became the college’s ninth president in 1987. The Ferrum campus continued to evolve throughout Dr. Boone’s 15-year term. An honors program was created in 2001 and later named the Boone Honors Program in honor of Dr. Boone and his wife Shirley Boone.
With Dr. Boone’s retirement in 2002, Dr. Jennifer Braaten began her 14-year tenure as Ferrum College president. Her energy and optimism helped strengthen the College physically, academically, and demographically. She oversaw many capital projects on campus, including four new dormitories, the Hank Norton Athletic Center, completion of the Stanley Library annex and Hart International Plaza, several major renovations, and the extension of Franklin Hall.
The centennial of the College was celebrated in 2013 with burial of a time capsule, installation of murals with historical photos in the Stanley Library lobby, a parade, and other festivities and special activities. Eight buildings were established as the Ferrum College Historic District in the Virginia and National Register of Historic Places.
Dr. David L. Johns came to Ferrum College as president in 2018, after spending nearly 30 years working in private higher education. During his tenure, Ferrum College introduced its first graduate programs, launched a nursing program, and was fully re-accredited following the 2020 review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
When the COVID pandemic began, in-person classes ended on Friday, March 13, 2020. Faculty and students transitioned to fully online instruction within less than a week. An abbreviated commencement ceremony was streamed online in May, with class of 2020 graduates returning for an outdoor ceremony in May of 2021. In fall 2020 some in-person and some online classes resumed with modified schedules. After that time the College continued to offer synchronous, asynchronous, and hybrid online courses and programs, along with traditional in-person courses for most undergraduate instruction.
Dr. Mirta M. Martin is the 13th president of Ferrum College and professor of business administration. After serving the College as interim president beginning January 2, 2023, Martin was confirmed as president following campus-wide community “listening sessions” in September and a full review by the Board of Trustees in October. The board’s confirmation was anchored by their confidence in Martin’s ability to lead the implementation of the College’s strategic plan, as well as her positive leadership traits, her demonstrated passion for Ferrum College and its students, and her creativity and innovation.
A Virginia historical marker for the Village of Ferrum was dedicated on April 13, 2024, near St. James Methodist Church. Those who researched and wrote it, secured state approval, and raised funds for the installation came together from the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum and the community group Ferrum Forward, with College faculty, retired staff, and alumni included. An older marker focused on Ferrum Junior College was erected ten miles away on Route 40 in 1968. The 2024 marker includes these words: “The Virginia Methodist Conference, at the initiative of its Woman’s Missionary Society, established Ferrum Training School in 1913 to educate mountain children. The school grew into Ferrum College and the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum.”
Dedication of Leo H. Scott Educational Pavilion at Farm Museum, 2019
Dedication of Richard L. Smith Center for International Programs, 2022
Dedication of Rex Stephenson Theatre, 2023
50th Anniversary of Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, 2023
Virginia Historical Marker Dedicated for Village of Ferrum, 2024
Transition to NCAA Division II, 2024-25
Centenary of Schoolfield Hall, 2025
50th Anniversary of Jack Tale Players, 2025
50th Anniversary of Social Work Program, 2026
50th Anniversary of Awarding Four-Year Degrees, 2026
40th Anniversary of Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Program, 2026
