Thyne Institute was established by the Rev. J.Y. Ashenhurst, the United Presbyterian Church, and local citizens to give African Americans, known in the late 1800s as freed men, an opportunity to obtain an education. Dr. Ashenhurst began teaching in a tobacco warehouse until John Thyne donated five acres of land and built the first school building, after which the church named the school in his honor. In 1876, 73 students were enrolled, and in 1893 the church expanded the school to begin boarding students, drawing attendees from as far away as Ohio and New York, though most came from the Norfolk/Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads areas of Virginia. In 1914, the Virginia Department of Education granted high school accreditation. The curriculum included Latin, calculus, Bible, music, and practical skills. Its success in providing quality education to African Americans became a model followed by other Southern schools, including Henderson Institute of North Carolina and Bluestone Harmony School of Virginia. Enrollment peaked in 1951-52 at 650 students, with a staff of 23 teachers and a graduating class of 140. Over time, more than 5,000 students and their descendants were enriched by the school, which also set a standard of quality in African American education. The school endured fires, financial difficulties, and racial hostilities within the community before it was eventually turned over to the Mecklenburg County School Board, and in the 1970s its campus buildings were replaced by a new elementary school.