About Henderson Settlement

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.