Aberdeen Elementary School
"Education was not an option"
— Explore Hampton 2010: From the Sea to the Stars —
A part of the original Aberdeen Gardens, Aberdeen Elementary School was opened in 1938. It quickly filled not only the role of educating students but also that of a community center, being used as a meeting place and social hall. There were Tuesday night movies, Friday night socials, and Sunday School too. Grades ranged from first to seventh grade in the single-story brick building with a colonial revival entrance and large rooms and windows. The first class graduated in 1942.
Children were bused into Aberdeen Elementary from nearby locales, such as Fowler's Heights, Park Place, Back River and Semple Farm Road. Education, as one former student put it, was not an option. Teachers did not have a problem with stopping on the way home to talk with a parent. Some were their friends or neighbors and, not infrequently, they would depart with a pie someone's grandmother had baked. Besides traditional academic subjects, black history was thoroughly taught. It was not just Booker T. Washington — about whom most white students learned — but many black entrepreneurs and inventors. Renovated a number of times, it was finally demolished in 1973, and a new school was built on the site.
Erected 2010 by Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau.
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Location. 37° 1.963′ N, 76° 24.51′ W. Marker is in Hampton, Virginia. It is in Briarfield. Marker can be reached from North Mary Peake Boulevard, 0.3 miles south of West Walker Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 57 N Mary Peake Blvd, Hampton VA 23666, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Once Hampton Institute's Farm (a few steps from this marker); The Beginnings of Aberdeen Gardens (a few steps from this marker); The Todd Farmhouse (within shouting distance of this marker); The Original Cooperative Center (within shouting distance of this marker); Aberdeen Gardens (approx. 0.2 miles away); Tucker's Cemetery (approx. 0.6 miles away); Deaf and Blind School (approx. 2.2 miles away); George W. Carver High School (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hampton.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 7, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 238 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 7, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
