The City of Salem endowed the school with its original location at 1 Broad Street. Initially, the school was a two-year, post-secondary educational institution reserved for women.
Early alumnae helped bring community service and education to others around the country such as Charlotte Forten, a graduate of the class of 1856, who was the first African-American school teacher to journey south and teach freed slaves. Other graduates would teach elementary and high schools as far as Africa, Asia and the Middle East. As the demand for teachers increased nationwide, the Salem Normal School prospered. The original building had to be renovated in 1871 to meet the growing enrollment.
=== New location ===
The school moved to its current location in South Salem in 1896 in the building known today as the Sullivan Building on North Campus. A few years later the Horace Mann Laboratory School was opened right next door.
In 1898, the student body became co-educational, although male enrollment remained small until the introduction …
