Can’t add much to Terry’s post, except to guide readers to some examples.   Here are examples of private education in Randolph County (“The RC” as I affectionately call it) before and after the Progressive educational system emerged: Asheborough Female Academy, Trinity College, and George Washington Carver College.   Another example would be Latta University in Raleigh in what is now called Oberlin Village.  

 If one is truly interested in this topic, a trip to an archive and exploring various denominational records and church records can be an eye-opening experience.   (In my research experience, Presbyterians were the forerunners during the 1800s.)  The denominational records are easy to locate, and they have been published and are easy to read.  Evidence abounds.