Dinwiddie Normal Industrial School (Southside High School)

Dinwiddie Normal Industrial School, the first African American high school built in the county during the segregation era, stood three miles southeast. When the building burned in 1953, plans were already in progress to construct a modern facility on this site as part of county efforts to build “separate but equal” schools. Bids came from across the region, and in Aug. 1952, the school board chose Farmville's Mottley Construction Co. to build the new school, which was renamed Southside High School. The school opened in spring 1954 with 520 students. Dr. Roy Watson served as principal. The school was closed in 2012.