Charles William Warfield, Sr

Charles William Warfield, Sr. October 15, 2017. , Charles William Warfield, Sr. was born on December 8, 1870 in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He was the second child of James Oscar and Elizabeth (née Robinson) Warfield. Not much is known about his childhood. He married Mary Margaret (née Crane, 1879-1915, interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Jefferson County) in 1898, and they had seven children together. Mary Margaret died in 1915 leaving behind her husband and children, several of whom were young. In 1917, Mr. Warfield married Harriet (née Martin, 1898-1986, interred in Buckhannon's Heavner Cemetery), an Upshur County native., Mr. Warfield graduated in 1894 from Storer College (1865-1955), a historically black college in Harpers Ferry, where he studied education. Storer College was founded with the goal of educating newly freed, black slaves. Warfield's father, James, was a member of Storer's first graduating class. During its early years, Storer struggled to find enough black teachers to handle the number of students enrolled. Realizing much of the south suffered from a lack of African-American teachers, Storer began to focus on training educators. In the early 1890s, when Mr. Warfield attended Storer, it had become a normal school, armed with the purpose of training black teachers who would help educate other blacks in the south. What Charles Warfield learned at Storer was instilled many years later with the students he taught in Upshur County., Charles Warfield went on to become an English professor at Storer College sometime after graduation. In the early 1900s, he briefly taught at Bluefield State College alongside several Storer College alumni. Bluefield was a historically black college, founded by a Storer College graduate, with the purpose of training black teachers in Bluefield, West Virginia. Warfield later returned to teach at Storer College where he stayed until 1917., In 1917, Charles Warfield was recruited to come to Buckhannon to become principal of a new school and champion the cause of African-American education in Upshur County. During the period of segregation, Upshur County struggled to educate black children. The county built a one-room school to house grades one through twelve of what became known as "The Victoria School," located but a couple of hundred feet down Baxter Street from this very site. The building burned down in the 1920s but was rebuilt by the Board of Education. Mr. Warfield primarily taught English and history, but was willing to do whatever was needed for the school, serving as athletics coach and custodian when necessary. He instituted a full, four-year college preparatory curriculum for high school students. According to students, Mr. Warfield did not allow the words "I can't" to be spoken in the school. He believed that education made all things possible. Charles Warfield served as principal until his retirement in 1938., Mr. Warfield epitomized excellence in every area of his life. It was reflected by his insistence on wearing a suit and tie every day. He required his family to be formally dressed for every dinner. He died on February 16, 1946 from heart disease, and was interred beside his first wife in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Jefferson County. His belief in the value of education was passed on to his seven children, all of whom were teachers for at least part of their professional careers. Three of his children, Pauline, Charles Jr., and Mary Virginia, followed in their father's footsteps attending Storer College. Pauline taught at The Victoria School and later worked for the government. Charles Jr. became the first African-American to graduate from The Ohio State University's College of Law. His daughter, Florence, was but the second African-American to attend West Virginia Wesleyan College. His youngest son, James, graduated from the University of Richmond returning to Buckhannon when his father became ill and was appointed principal of The Victoria School until world war two began. During the war, Warfield's youngest daughter, Cerelle, functioned as principal. James served as principal again after he returned home from the war and remained principal until the school closed in 1949., To quote one of his students from Upshur County: "Mr. Warfield wanted every student to learn. It was wonderful to have him as a teacher." Our Buckhannon-Upshur community honors the memory and rich legacy of one of our most contributing citizens and educators, Charles William Warfield, Sr., who did so much for so many. Buckhannon is a better place as a consequence of his having been here., Warfield Way, originally dedicated in 2004, was rededicated by the City of Buckhannon during our community's third annual Diversity Day celebration on the same day as the dedication of this biographical placard.