Amelia Perry Pride's Dorchester Home

Q-6-30

Near this spot stood a small frame house known as Dorchester Home or Old Folks Home for impoverished former slave women. Established in 1897 by Hampton Institute graduate and Lynchburg public school principal Amelia Perry Pride (1857-1932), it provided shelter, fuel, clothing, and food for its residents until their deaths. Following Hampton Institute's principle of uplifting her race through self-help, Pride was a passionate advocate of African American and Virginia Indian education. In Lynchburg, she provided scholarships for many young women seeking higher education and established sewing and cooking schools for women and men entering vocational fields.

Department of Historic Resources, 2014

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Smith, Scott. “Developmental History of 1301-1311 Pierce Street, Lynchburg, Virginia.” Published by History Tech, LLC for the Community Development Office, City of Lynchburg, Virginia, 23 September 2013. Southern Workman. Selected articles, beginning 1897. White, Jane B. “Pierce Street Renaissance Historic District.” Brochure, published by Discover Lynchburg for Anne Spencer House & Garden, 2012. Amelia Elizabeth Perry Pride, buried in Old City Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia. “Pioneer Teacher Ends Busy Life,” TDA, 4 June 1932, obituary.