The Salisbury Industrial High School, founded in 1907, was a co-educational institution offering a three-year curriculum that included Math, English, History, Industrial Arts, Home Economics, Agriculture, and other specialized subjects. The first administrator was Phineas Gordy, followed by Dr. Charles H. Chipman. The school operated in Feldman's Warehouse on Commerce Street (Railroad Avenue) until 1930.
The first graduates from Wetipquin were:
Class of 1918: Sarah Moore Jones and Lillian Hull Wright
Class of 1919: Victoria Bailey Taylor
Class of 1924: Naomi Wright Camper
Class of 1925: Parlett Moore (Valedictorian)
Class of 1926: Amos Mitchell (Valedictorian)
Class of 1928: Rachel Hull Hall
Class of 1929: Hester Morris Nutter and Novella Moore Monk (Class President)
Several of these graduates became educators. Sarah Jones taught at Head of Creek Elementary School, Lillian Wright at Wetipquin Elementary, and Victoria Taylor in Charles County and Jesterville, Maryland. Rachel Hull was an educator in Annapolis, Maryland, and Wicomico County. Parlett Moore became the principal of Mace Lane High School in Cambridge, Maryland, and later the third president of Coppin State College in Baltimore, Maryland, after earning his doctorate. Naomi Camper became a dietitian and ordained minister. Amos Mitchell returned to Wetipquin in 1950 and was active in community affairs.
In 1930, a new Salisbury High School was built on Lake Street, with many Wetipquin students graduating from there. In 1947, Mrs. Carrie D. Bailey was president of the Negro Parent/Teachers Association for all black schools in Wicomico County. This association established a student loan fund and raised funds for the Salisbury Colored High School Band.
Mr. Charles James Dashiell, the first black man in Wetipquin to own a school bus, transported students in the 1940s from Wetipquin and other communities to Salisbury Colored High School. The Camper family also provided bus transportation from the early 1950s onward.
In February 1955, Wayne Hull was president of the Salisbury High PTA Teenage Auxiliary. Historical records mention the existence of schools for black children financed by parents as early as November 27, 1870. By 1874, there were 11 colored schools in Wicomico County, increasing to one or more in every election district except the sixth by 1879. The state appropriation for colored schools in Wicomico County was $2,853.68 in 1870.
By 1904, white schools operated for three terms (fall, winter, spring) while colored schools were open for only 2.5 terms. The only high school for black students in Wicomico County evolved from the Colored Industrial School in Salisbury, with Phineas E. Gordy as its first principal. Charles H. Chipman succeeded him in 1915 and served until his retirement in 1961. In 1930, the Industrial High School became Salisbury High School.
In August 1967, Governor Spiro T. Agnew appointed Orenzie William Hull Jr. to the Wicomico County school board, making him the first black person appointed to this board. Hull was a faculty member at Maryland State Teacher College (UMES) and a former assistant high school principal in Salisbury. He held degrees from Lincoln University and the University of Pennsylvania, and had served in the army during World War II. Hull was also active in various community and educational organizations.
