Arnaud Preot Collection

Arnaud Preot, a native of Lille, France, served as the second principal of Farmville Female College from 1862-1869. He had previously taught at Walkhill Academy in Pennsylvania and was a professor of music and languages at Southworth College in Petersburg, Virginia. He moved to Buckingham County in the 1850s to teach music at the Female Collegiate Institute, which faltered and closed its doors at the beginning of the Civil War. Preot took a job as a music and French teacher at Farmville Female College and was then named president after George La Monte left the school.

Under Preot’s tenure, the faculty was enlarged and a three-year degree program for select students was instituted. Tuition and fees at the college were also increased to $63 for music and language and $64 for board. By 1864-65, enrollment at Farmville Female College increased to 87 students, in addition to a number of other scholars seeking certificates of proficiency. Preot resigned the presidency in 1869 to teach at Danville Female College. When that institution closed in 1870, he then accepted a position on the faculty of Roanoke Female College where he eventually served as principal.