Founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, an ousted professor of classics from Rollins College in Florida, and several colleagues, BMC opened its doors in September 1933 with 12 faculty members and 22 students. Rice was a follower of John Dewey’s ideas about progressive education and saw the new college as a place to put those ideas into action. With little time to fundraise, the founders needed to find a readymade facility for their startup college. That place was the Blue Ridge Assembly, a large complex of buildings owned by the YMCA, on the southern outskirts of Black Mountain, NC.
The property is situated about halfway up a mountain, surrounded by forests and rhododendron groves, with outstanding views of the Great Craggy Mountains and the Black Mountains to the north. Since the YMCA only used the Blue Ridge Assembly during the summer, Black Mountain College was able to rent it for the other three seasons of the year. Anchored by the massive Robert E. Lee Hall, the property had ample space for the young college community to establish itself and grow. The college would remain at the Blue Ridge Assembly for eight years.
