Pine Mountain Settlement School was founded in 1913 by William Creech Sr. and he donated the land for the school. The school was a boarding school for elementary and middle school children from 1913 until 1930. After 1930, the school admitted high school students. The educational focus of the school was academics, but vocational and artistic talents of the students were also encouraged. The school started a joint educational venture with Harlan County school system in 1949 to run a community elementary school. Pine Mountain Settlement School was a school until 1972. Today the facility functions as an environmental center that teaches individuals and groups about the environment, Appalachian culture and crafts. Ethel Marion Wright was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1893. She was a teacher at Pine Mountain Settlement School from 1919-1921. Lucretia Garfield, the granddaughter of United States President James A. Garfield, was also a teacher at Pine Mountain Settlement School while Ethel Wright was a teacher. She is in a few of this collection's photographs and also took some of the pictures.
From the description of Pine Mountain Settlement School Photograph Collection, 1919-1921 and 1923. (Kentucky Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 83790475
