Ladies and gentlemen, more than 162 years ago, the Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews, a pioneer of education in Highland County in the 1800s, announced he was resigning as president of the Hillsborough Female College in December of 1860. 

Ladies and gentlemen, after operating the Oakland Female Seminary in Hillsboro from 1839 until 1856, the Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews, a pioneer of education in Highland County in the 1800s, was appointed president of the new Hillsborough Female College that was constructed between West Main and West Walnut at Oak Street.  

In 1856, a new Hillsborough Female College was constructed on the west end of Main Street. It was located between Main and West Walnut at Oak Street.