Buckhorn School Oral History Collection

Witherspoon College, an educational project begun in Perry County, Kentucky, in 1902, was renamed Presbyterian Child Welfare Agency in 1956, after its role in the community changed. Some assets were transferred to the E.O. Robinson Fund. Later it became the Buckhorn Children's Center.

In 1902, Rev. Harvey Murdoch came to Buckhorn as the Field Secretary of the E. O. Guerrant Society of Soul Winners. He found no public or private educational facilities for miles around. Local residents were eager to help Murdoch develop a Christian school. By the time Murdoch died in 1935, he had established an extensive educational enterprise, sponsored by the Presbyterian Church, under the name Witherspoon College.

It included grades one through twelve, dormitories, a gym, a farm and dairy herd to feed over 200 resident boys and girls, and a full time staff. There was also a hospital, which at the time was the only one within a radius of 100 miles.

Elmer Gabbard succeeded Murdoch and for 20 years continued Buckhorn Schoolʹs development. During this first 50 years, Buckhorn provided an education for some 2,500 boys and girls. In the 1950s, when the Perry County Board of Education established public schools and paved roads were built, Buckhornʹs focus shifted from education to care for dependent children, and was renamed. It continues to provide services to children from the area.