Near Meredithville in Brunswick County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Saint Paul’s Chapel School

Rosenwald Funded

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 20, 2017

1. Saint Paul’s Chapel School Marker

Inscription. Among the earliest of the more than a dozen Julius Rosenwald Schools built in Brunswick County, Saint Paul’s Chapel School was constructed as a one-teacher standard plan in 1920 under the initial wave of Tuskegee Institute-administered building funds. Contributors included the Rosenwald Fund ($300), local black families ($450), and public money ($750) for a total of $1,500. Between 1917 and 1932, the Rosenwald Fund helped build more than 5,000 African American schools across the rural South. Former student Erwin L. Avery restored the school in 2004. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

Erected 2014 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number SN-67.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the Rosenwald Schools, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1920.

Location. 36° 49.473′ N, 77° 57.535′ W. Marker is near Meredithville, Virginia, in Brunswick County. Marker is at the intersection of Brunswick Drive (County Route 644) and Exit 24 (Interstate 85) on Brunswick Drive. It is just north of the

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Interstate. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Meredithville VA 23873, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Southside Virginia Community College (approx. 2½ miles away); Nellie Pratt Russell (approx. 2.6 miles away); Fort Christanna (approx. 2.7 miles away); Old Brunswick Courthouse (approx. 2.7 miles away); Rev. Jesse C. Byrd D.D. (approx. 3.3 miles away); Oak Grove School (approx. 3.3 miles away); Staunton River Raid (approx. 3.6 miles away); Brunswick County, Virginia (approx. 5.4 miles away).

Regarding Saint Paul’s Chapel School. The schoolhouse is some 350 feet north of the marker on the right, in the next clearing. It is measures approximately 20 by 40 feet.

Also see . . . 2004 NRHP Nomination Form. (Excerpt) The only one-room school of the 13 constructed in Brunswick County with Rosenwald Fund support, (of the remainder, 11 had two teachers, and one had three teachers) St. Paul’s School was built with a total of $1,500 from the Rosenwald Fund. Of that total, the African-American contribution was $450, the public contribution $750, and the Rosenwald Fund contribution $300.

St. Paul’s School was one of the early undertakings of the Rosenwald Fund, still in its formative years. In the period in which St. Paul's School was constructed, the Rosenwald Fund was still administered from Tuskegee Institute under Robert Russa Moton. Likely one of the results of its construction in the early years of the Fund, before procedures were

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 20, 2017

2. Saint Paul’s Chapel School Marker

fully established and tested, the St. Paul’s School appears to have been constructed on private—not public—land, as was later required. This would impact the school in its later years.

On October 7, 1941, a local African-American sharecropper named Stewart Avery purchased the 123-acre farm of Delia Baily; included within the land was the two-acre parcel on which was located the St. Paul’s School. The purchase proved contentious in the local community, as Avery claimed ownership of the school. The dispute was resolved with the appointment of a Special Commissioner, J.C. Hutchinson, who decided that the school and the two-acre site belonged to the Bmnswick County School Board. The deed was not granted to Brunswick County until May 1951, and until his death in July 1968, Avery maintained the school belonged to him. Meanwhile, the school closed in June 1960 and remained vacant and disused for over 40 years. (Submitted on August 25, 2017.)

Additional keywords. Also known as St. Paul’s School.

Saint Paul’s Chapel School image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 20, 2017

3. Saint Paul’s Chapel School

This view is from the road

Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 20, 2017

4. Saint Paul’s Chapel School

Credits. This page was last revised on August 25, 2017. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 377 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 25, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.