History of Resale Campus

Margaret Sullivan was employed by the owners of Quaker Oats and traveled from Chicago to Southern Pines with her employers. In 1933, Sullivan wrote to the Raleigh Diocese expressing her desire to assist financially in establishing a Catholic Church for African Americans in Moore County. The church was dedicated on March 19, 1935, as Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church. Our Lady of Victory School opened on September 8, 1942.   

Our Lady of Victory church and school served West Southern Pines well. The church became an informal community center, welcoming people of all faiths and offering movies, vacation school, and other neighborhood events. During integration the Catholic Diocese in Raleigh closed Our Lady of Victory, merging it with St. Anthony of Padua to establish an integrated Catholic Church as well as the first integrated school in Moore County.   

The Our Lady of Victory campus sat vacant until the 1970s when the Town of Southern Pines purchased the property from the Catholic Diocese. The town established the Douglass Community Center in the former school building which is now part of the Southern Pines Parks and Recreation Department and hosts a variety of private and community events.

Over the next two decades, the church and rectory buildings served numerous organizations including Sandhills Community Action Program and a tutoring program for local youth. In 1986, the Town of Southern Pines leased the rectory to the newly founded Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care.  

Demand for Coalition services continued to grow, and by 1990, the organization was seeking additional funding opportunities. Dedicated volunteers began holding yard sales each Saturday morning to financially support the Coalition’s mission. With their success and the encouragement of their loyal customers, the Coalition opened its Resale Shop in the spring of 1990.