North Courtland in Lawrence County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Courtland Colored School
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Central High School
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R.A. Hubbard School
Lawrence County
Photographed by Billy Clemmons, June 6, 2026
1. Courtland Colored School Marker, Side One
The African American community of Courtland, led by Principal Richard A. Hubbard, bought this land to establish a public school for its students in a segregated South. Prior to this, Black students gathered in various locations as part of the North Alabama Baptist Academy. In 1938, the Lawrence County Board of Education agreed to pay teachers salaries if the community could raise enough money to buy land for a school. Hubbard spearheaded the fundraising efforts, initially installing three decommissioned barracks from the nearby Courtland Army Airfield in 1948. In 1952, the county school board replaced the barracks with a modern separate but equal facility, renaming it Central High School in 1961.
Reverse Side
Although the 1954 court decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka outlawed public school segregation nationwide, many Southern towns resisted integration into the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lawrence County desegregated in the fall of 1970. The school board then closed Central High School and established a racially integrated Courtland Elementary School in its place. In 2004, the elementary and high schools merged, becoming R. A. Hubbard School, a name the African American community fought for to honor the renowned and beloved educator. The school board closed the school in 2021 and later deeded the land and buildings to the Town of North Courtland.
Erected 2025 by Alabama Historical Commission, Black Heritage Council and community leaders.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
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Location. 34° 40.859′ N, 87° 18.543′ W. Marker is in North Courtland, Alabama, in Lawrence County. It is on Jessie Jackson Parkway half a mile south of Alabama Highway 20, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12847 Jessie Jackson Pkwy, Courtland AL 35618, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, 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 Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Frank and Annie Lee Davis House and School (approx. 0.3 miles away); Courtland Cemetery (approx. 0.7 miles away); McMahon House (approx. 0.8 miles away); Courtland Presbyterian Church (approx. 0.9 miles away); Harris-Simpson Home (approx. 0.9 miles away); The Town of Courtland / Early Settlers (approx. one mile away); The Red Rovers / Red Rovers Roster (approx. one mile away); Courtland's Early Architecture (approx. one mile away).
Photographed by Billy Clemmons, June 6, 2026
2. Courtland Colored School Marker, Side Two
Photographed by Billy Clemmons, June 6, 2026
3. Courtland Colored School Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 10, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 6, 2026, by Billy Clemmons of Florence, Alabama. This page has been viewed 16 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 6, 2026, by Billy Clemmons of Florence, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
