Governor Morehead School (GMS) is the flagship school in North Carolina that serves the special needs of visually impaired students, in a unique residential setting. The innovativeness of the Governor Morehead School extends back to its roots.  When the school was established in 1845, it was the eighth school for the blind in the United States.  Equally impressive is that North Carolina was the first state to serve the African-American blind and deaf population, beginning just four years after the Civil War. The school moved to the current location on Ashe Avenue in Raleigh in 1923 and was renamed in 1964, in honor of former Governor John Motley Morehead.  African-American students attended school at the Garner Road campus until an exchange of students began in 1967, with full integration being achieved in 1977.