Cora Wilson Stewart was born in Farmers, Kentucky and attended Morehead Normal School (later Morehead State University) and the University of Kentucky.  She taught school in Rowan County and in 1901, at the age of 26, was elected to the position of county school superintendent.  She was re-elected in 1909.
  
The Moonlight School program provided a model for fighting literacy that other states and nations followed.  When the Moonlight Schools opened on September 5, 1911, adults were taught at night in the one-room schools in which children were taught by day.  Teachers volunteered their time to teach at these schools, at first only on moonlit nights when students could make their way in the dark.  Stewart later called this first night “the brightest moonlit night the world has ever seen.”  1200 people, ranging in age from 18 to 86, showed up at the 50 schools on that September night.  Stewart wrote The Country Life Reader in order to sustain the interest of the adult pupils. 

  Stewart was the first woman president of the Kentucky Education Association and in 1926, she was named director of the National Illiteracy Crusade.  From 1929-1933 she was named as chairperson of President Hoover's Commission on Illiteracy.

  One of the schools that served as a Moonlight School now stands on the campus of Morehead State University.  The work of Cora Wilson Stewart and the many teachers who volunteered their time are not forgotten. 

  Cora Wilson Stewart was born in Farmers, Kentucky and attended Morehead Normal School (later Morehead State University) and the University of Kentucky.  She taught school in Rowan County and in 1901, at the age of 26, was elected to the position of county school superintendent.  She was re-elected in 1909.

  
The Moonlight School program provided a model for fighting literacy that other states and nations followed.  When the Moonlight Schools opened on September 5, 1911, adults were taught at night in the one-room schools in which children were taught by day.  Teachers volunteered their time to teach at these schools, at first only on moonlit nights when students could make their way in the dark.  Stewart later called this first night “the brightest moonlit night the world has ever seen.”  1200 people, ranging in age from 18 to 86, showed up at the 50 schools on that September night.  Stewart wrote The Country Life Reader in order to sustain the interest of the adult pupils.

  Stewart was the first woman president of the Kentucky Education Association and in 1926, she was named director of the National Illiteracy Crusade.  From 1929-1933 she was named as chairperson of President Hoover's Commission on Illiteracy.  She was also a delegate to the 1920 Democratic Convention in San Francisco, and was nominated for President of the United States.  She was active in the General Federation of Women’s Clubs as well.
  
  One of the schools that served as a Moonlight School now stands on the campus of Morehead State University.  The work of Cora Wilson Stewart and the many teachers who volunteered their time are not forgotten.