The second stage in the evolution of Louisburg College began on December 27, 1814, when the state legislature ratified an act chartering the Louisburg Female Academy. The charter named twelve trustees, some of whom already served on the board of trustees for Franklin Male Academy.
By August 1815, Louisburg Female Academy was operating under the guidance of Harriet Partridge, "a lady from Massachusetts, eminently qualified." Subjects taught at the new female academy included reading, writing, English grammar, arithmetic, geography, painting, drawing, embroidery, piano, and dancing. Harriet Partridge, who became Mrs. John Bobbitt, served as principal from 1815-1820 and 1832-1842.
From 1843-1856, Asher H. Ray and his wife Jane Curtis Ray were highly successful as principals of the female academy, which in the 1850s was called Louisburg Female Seminary. Among the courses offered by the seminary were history, botany, algebra, rhetoric, chemistry, geology, logic, French, Latin, Greek, guitar, and calisthenics. The respected reputation of the seminary contributed to a movement to establish a female college.