Nansemond County Training School

Two miles south stood the Nansemond County Training School, the first high school in the county for African American students. It was constructed in 1924 with $5,000 contributed by African American families, $11,500 in public money, and $1,500 from the Rosenwald Fund, established in 1917 to build schools for African American students in the rural South. The building, with seven classrooms and one auditorium, contained an elementary and secondary school. Hannibal E. Howell was its first principal, serving for 42 years. In 1964, the name was changed to Southwestern High School and after the racial integration of county schools, became Southwestern Intermediate School.