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Dr. Mary T. Martin Sloop
DR. MARY TURPIN MARTIN SLOOP (9 March 1873 - 13 January 1962) was a graduate of the Statesville Female College and the Pennsylvania Women’s College of Medicine. She also attended Davidson College. ...view moreDR. MARY TURPIN MARTIN SLOOP (9 March 1873 - 13 January 1962) was a graduate of the Statesville Female College and the Pennsylvania Women’s College of Medicine. She also attended Davidson College. In 1909 she married Dr. Eustace Sloop, whom she had met while a student at Davidson College. With her husband she became a medical missionary to Avery County in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Settling first in the mining community of Plumtree their medical practice soon spread over a large isolated region of the mountains. By 1910 they relocated to a more central location in the small village of Crossnore.
To combat the lack of education in the mountain community she began the Crossnore Academy, a residential school for local children. In order to support the students she joined with the Daughters of The American Revolution to fund the school. She would also co-found The Crossnore Presbyterian Church. She became a nationally known speaker and advocate for the needs of this remote area.
U.S. Highway 221 is named the Dr. Mary Martin Sloop Highway in recognition of her efforts. In 1951 she was voted The American Mother of the Year, and in 2009 she was recognized as one of the fifty most influential persons in the history of Western North Carolina.
She died in 1962 aged 88.view less