Buckingham Training School

Buckingham Training School. Dillwyn, Virginia. , The Buckingham Training School sits on 9.25 acres and was established as a result of Stephen J. Ellis' longtime efforts to establish a secondary school for African American students in the Buckingham County area. Ellis first organized the County-wide League for School Improvement to lobby the school board to construct the school. After little success or support from the school board, Ellis embarked on a funding campaign within the local community. His efforts secured a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck, and Co. helped pay for the construction of more than 5,000 schools for African Americans in 15 Southern states, with more than 350 of them in Virginia., Completed in 1923, the original school building featured a four-room design for graded classes. Thomas L. Dabney served as the first principal. The campus served as the only secondary school for African American students in Buckingham County until 1954. Although the school started with modest enrollment, it had expanded to include a vocational shop to help teach the trades. The persistence and dedication of the African American community helped the school overcome many challenges, including the lack of county-provided student transportation., In 1954, the Buckingham Training School closed after the construction of the Carter G. Woodson High School for African Americans. Renamed Stephen J. Ellis Elementary School, the campus reopened in 1963 when racial integration paved the way for consolidation of Buckingham County's schools.