Dunnvsille in Essex County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Rappahannock Industrial Academy

Photographed by Cherlanda Sidney-Ross, May 21, 2022

1. Rappahannock Industrial Academy Marker

Inscription. The Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association opened the Rappahannock Industrial Academy here in 1902 to provide secondary education for African Americans at a time when no public high schools were available to them in the area. Supported by churches, individuals, and the sale of timber and produce, the school served boarding and day students primarily from this region but also from other parts of Virginia and beyond. It offered a range of academic courses and extracurricular activities and was accredited by the state in 1934. Its nearly 300-acre campus included a working farm. Enrollment declined after public high schools were established, and the school closed in 1948.

Erected 2022 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number O 78.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1902.

Location. 37° 50.377′ N, 76° 48.167′ W. Marker is in Dunnvsille, Virginia, in Essex County. It is on Tidewater Trail (U.S. 17) 0.2 miles north of Boston Road (Virginia Route 610), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Dunnsville VA 22454, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

in the Chesapeake Bay Region,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum

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South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Old Folks Home (here, next to this marker); Site of Rappahannock Industrial Academy (a few steps from this marker); Angel Visit Baptist Church (approx. ¾ mile away); Fort Lowry - Camp Byron (approx. 1.7 miles away); Thomas Washington Lynched (approx. 2.3 miles away); Fort Lowry (approx. 3.8 miles away); Mann Meeting House (approx. 4.4 miles away); Essex County Confederate Monument (approx. 6.9 miles away).

Photographed by Michael C. Gresham, May 23, 2002

2. Rappahannock Industrial Academy Marker

Rappahannock Industrial Academy Marker (back) and the Old Folks Home Marker (front) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bessida Cauthorne White, March 20, 2025

3. Rappahannock Industrial Academy Marker (back) and the Old Folks Home Marker (front)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 31, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 23, 2022, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. This page has been viewed 964 times since then and 68 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 23, 2022, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. 3. submitted on March 30, 2025, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.