ABSTRACT
Fayetteville, Arkansas may seem an unlikely place for the location of a New Englandstyle academy, but Sophia Sawyer founded such an institution there in 1839. Modeled on Sawyer's own educational experience at a leading female academy in Massachusetts, Fayetteville Female Seminary resembled that institution in many respects. In at least one important way, however, Fayetteville Female Seminary differed significantly. Drawing on her long experience and reputation as a missionary teacher among the Cherokee in Tennessee, Georgia, and the Indian Territory, Sawyer welcomed both white and Cherokee students in her school. Wealthy Cherokee parents in the Cherokee Territory sent their daughters and some sons across the border to attend Miss Sawyer's seminary. A few of these students went on to teach at the school as well. Although some local white families objected to this mixture of races, Sawyer managed to overcome these objections and make Fayetteville Seminary a highly successful institution. The historical circumstances and personal characteristics that contributed to Sawyer's success in creating and sustaining this distinctive academy are the topic of this chapter.
