Rappahannock Industrial Academy

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The Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association opened the Rappahannock Industrial Academy here in 1902 to provide secondary education for African Americans at a time when no public high schools were available to them in the area. Supported by churches, individuals, and the sale of timber and produce, the school served boarding and day students primarily from this region but also from other parts of Virginia and beyond. It offered a range of academic courses and extracurricular activities and was accredited by the state in 1934. Its nearly 300-acre campus included a working farm. Enrollment declined after public high schools were established, and the school closed in 1948.

Department of Historic Resources, 2021

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

W. Edward Robinson, “Historic Sketch of the Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association…” (1927). Lillian Hill McGuire, The Vista of a Century: Historic Highlights of The Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association and Allied Bodies (Brentwood, MD, 1977). Essex County Deed Book 60:462, 70:400, 75:48. Catalogue of the Rappahannock Industrial Academy, Session of 1938-39, 1939-40. Richmond Times-Dispatch, 29 May 1906. Norfolk Journal and Guide, 5 Aug. 1939, 6 March 1948. Irvington Virginia Citizen, 2 Oct. 1903. Cleveland Gazette, 13 Dec. 1913. Lillian H. McGuire, Uprooted and Transplanted from Africa to America (New York: Vantage Press, 1999). James B. Slaughter, Settlers, Southerners, Americans: The History of Essex County, Virginia 1608-1984 (Essex County Board of Supervisors, 1985).