She established Tuggle Institute, a local boarding school for black children who were destitute orphans and juvenile defendants and were given free education.

She married John Tuggle, a native of Columbus Ohio, and moved to Birmingham in the early 1900s, in search of better economic opportunities and a social life.

[6] Early in her career as a social worker, Tuggle pleaded before a court to pardon two juvenile delinquents from a prison sentence, volunteering to take them under her care and reform them.

This action received appreciation from residents such as A. G. Gaston,[7] and inspired her to establish the Jefferson County Juvenile and Domestic Court.

Initially, the school was a temporary structure, but she saw to it that an academic curriculum was created covering subjects such as industry, nursing and music.

At this stage she suffered setbacks in her personal life when one of her daughters, Mamie Adams, a leading social activist, died.

There is a plaque in the school in honor of her memory with the inscription "Carrie A. Tuggle, a scholar, educator and servant of mankind.