St. Augustine's School for Negroes was founded in 1867 by North Carolina churchmen. It was built and maintained, however, by northern churchmen and agencies. While the school was not a diocesan institution, Bishop Cheshire throughout his episcopate gave it his full co-operation and support. He had a personal interest in the school, for his father had been one of the original incorporators. As ex-officio president of the Board of Trustees he kept in close contact with the development of St. Augustine's. Realizing that his state benefited most from the school, Bishop Cheshire time and time again urged his people to give it every encouragement and assistance within their means. In appreciation of his services to St. Augustine's, the authorities of the school resolved to name a proposed new building for Bishop Cheshire. Of this decision, the presiding bishop, John Gardner Murray, remarked: "I can conceive of nothing more splendid that the Church or community could do than to erect at St. Augustine's a building in honor of Bishop Cheshire. The work itself is most deserving in every way, and the Bishop whose name you propose to have associated with it, is one of the greatest Bishops in our Church in his every relationship thereto."[53] The dedication of the Cheshire Building at St. Augustine's College took place on Bishop Cheshire's eightieth birthday, March 27, 1930. In the course of the ceremony the Bishop delivered an address in which he traced the history of St. Augustine's from its establishment as a simple normal school to its present collegiate status. He touched upon the development of Negro education in the South since 1865, and emphasized the importance of this fact in the growth of a better relationship between the races. St. Augustine's, said the Bishop, in a larger sense represents the church's attitude towards the Negro problem in America and what it has done to solve that problem. Dr. A. B. Hunter, principal of the school for twenty-five years, made a short talk in which he spoke of the Bishop's loyal support of St. Augustine's. He ascribed much of the institution's success to the "unfailing sympathy and material assistance of the Bishop." Towards the end of the ceremony a portrait of Bishop Cheshire, hanging in the hall of the new building, was unveiled. Coming as it did towards the end of his life, this expression of appreciation from the colored people was a fitting close to the Bishop's work among the Negroes. He understood and respected his colored people, and in return they loved him and gave him their loyalty and confidence. CHAPTER IX _Development and Conclusion of the Bishop's Work_