Lancaster in Lancaster County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Brookvale High School
Lancaster Co. opened Brookvale High School to serve Black students in 1959, five years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared public school segregation unconstitutional. The building replaced the old A.T. Wright High School. The Crusaders Political and Social Club, a civil rights organization, met here frequently. In 1969 the Brookvale Warriors won the last state baseball championship overseen by the Virginia Interscholastic Association, the league for Black schools. Lancaster Co. fully desegregated its schools in the fall of 1969, and the Brookvale building became an intermediate school. Brookvale's last principal, Dr. Elton Smith Jr., later became the first Black public school superintendent in VA.
Erected 2025 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number J-50.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education • Sports. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1959.
Location. 37° 45.127′ N, 76° 24.843′ W. Marker is in Lancaster,
this page online
Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Northern Neck. 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 South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: White Marsh Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); Armistead S. Nickens (approx. 1.3 miles away); Morattico Baptist Church (approx. 2.8 miles away); Confederate Memorial (approx. 3 miles away); Ditchley and Cobbs (approx.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 30, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
