Sophie B. Wright began her life’s work as an educator when she was only fourteen years old, opening a day school for girls in a spare room in her family home in 1880. Her career in education grew to include operating the Home Institute, a day and boarding school for girls. Within the institute’s facilities, she also operated a free night school for working men and boys.
In addition to her career in education, Wright worked as the state secretary for the King’s Daughters and Sons, a Christian charitable organization. It was in this role that Wright helped open the Home for Incurables, a care facility for disabled children in New Orleans, and the Rest Awhile, a retreat for underprivileged women and children in Mandeville.
In 1903 Wright was awarded the Daily Picayune’s Loving Cup, an award given annually to celebrate the philanthropic work of a local New Orleanian. Wright was the third person and first woman to receive the award. Shortly before her death in 1912, the Sophie B. Wright School, a high school for girls, was named in her honor. Following her death, a park on Magazine Street, near the former site of the Home Institute, was also named in her honor. A statue of her, sculpted by Enrique Alférez, was erected in the park, and an adjacent street was renamed Sophie Wright Place.
![Sophie B. Wright (1981.307.6)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/1981.307.6_web.jpg)
Sophie B. Wright
ca. 1896; collodion print
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Mrs. James Craig Roth, 1981.307.6
![Sophie B. Wright (back row, far right) with the Home Institute senior class of 1895 (1981.307.4)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/1981.307.4_web.jpg)
Sophie B. Wright (back row, far right) with the Home Institute senior class of 1895
1895; gelatin silver print
by W. H. Burgess
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Mrs. James Craig Roth, 1981.307.4
![Letter from students to Sophie B. Wright (courtesy Louisiana Research Center)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/LI-000216.8_web.jpg)
Letter from students to Sophie B. Wright
June 8, 1899
courtesy of the Sophie B. Wright Collection, Louisiana Research Collection, Tulane University
![Letter from Sophie B. Wright to her student Miss A. Raymond (91-15-L.8.1)](https://www.hnoc.org/sites/default/files/virtual-exhib/91-15-L.8.1_web.jpg)
Letter from Sophie B. Wright to her student Miss A. Raymond
October 4, 1911
The Historic New Orleans Collection, 91-15-L.8.1