Dr. William James Holloway was born in Salisbury on January 29, 1873. The Holloway Photograph Collection depicts the formative years of the Maryland State Normal School from 1925-1928, Holloway’s family life and activities in the 1920s, and Wicomico County Public Schools in the 1910s. In 1908, Holloway became the Wicomico County Superintendent of Schools, during which he also earned his Master’s Degree in Education from Columbia University. By 1917, he was named the State Supervisor of Rural Schools and then the Assistant State Superintendent of Schools in 1922. Holloway’s proposal for a normal school in Salisbury came to fruition in September 1925; he was named superintendent and principal of the school. Holloway resigned on October 5, 1934 and passed away on Saturday March 14, 1936.

Dr. William James Holloway was born in Salisbury on January 29, 1873. As a child he was educated in the public schools of Wicomico County. He graduated from Salisbury High School at the age of sixteen in 1889. After graduation, Holloway took up work as a railroad and commercial telegraph operator with various local railroads. In 1893, he entered the teaching profession.

He began his career as an instructor at the elementary level and then progressed to teaching high school. In 1901, he was made principal of Salisbury High School, a position he held for two years. After accumulating nearly a decade of hands-on experience, Holloway was offered a position as an instructor in 1903 at the Maryland State Normal School in Towson. While there, he began his collegiate studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1904.

In 1908, Holloway left Towson to return home as the Wicomico County Superintendent of Schools, during which period he also earned his Master’s Degree in Education from Columbia University. By 1917, he was named the State Supervisor of Rural Schools, a position from which he was later promoted to the Assistant State Superintendent of Schools in 1922.

Holloway’s proposal for a normal school in Salisbury came to fruition in September 1925; he was named superintendent and principal of the school, a title later known as “President.” Holloway resigned on October 5, 1934, just short of seeing the small normal school he helped found blossom into a fully- accredited college.

He was married to Mary Weller Holloway and together had six children: W. Weller Holloway, M. Elizabeth Holloway, Jeanne G. Holloway, Robert M. Holloway, Nancy E. Holloway, and Edward F. Holloway. On Saturday March 14, 1936, he passed away in a Baltimore hospital.

These approximately 330 photographs in the Holloway Photograph Collection depict the formative years of the Maryland State Normal School from 1925-1928, Holloway’s family life and activities in the 1920s, and Wicomico County Public Schools in the 1910s. There are approximately 300 negatives (with reproductions in contact sheet and prints included), 37 glass plate negatives (3.25 x 4 inches), and two prints. Most or all of these photographs were taken by William J. Holloway.

Early Maryland State Normal School photos include black and white images that date between 1926 and 1928, though many are not clearly identified and dated, showing the students, the building (and its expansion), and various activities.

Family photographs include shots of children and neighbors at the Holloway home, friends or family at the beach (likely Ocean City), family or friends on a farm, graduation celebrations, vacations to Gettysburg, ferrying across a river, and other family scenes.

Many photographs of Wicomico County schools, in addition to two images of the Linthicum Heights School, date to the 1910s and were published in official reports of the Board of Education. These include one room school houses and other rural school buildings, such as Brick Kiln, Pittsville, Freeny’s, East Salisbury Primary, and Porter’s Mill.

The photographs have no apparent arrangement and glass plate negatives remain in the original order of when it was received in a transfer from the Alumni House.