Gallipolis in Gallia County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Lincoln Colored School

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 26, 2026

1. Lincoln Colored School Marker, Side One

Inscription.
The Black community of Gallipolis pooled their resources and expertise to open, Gallipolis Union Colored School in 1868.. Located on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Olive Street, the public school offered primary education until, around 1877. a high school curriculum was added. In 1882, the first four students to graduate high school were W.H. Haskins, Minnie Battles. Idella Black, and Mary Nease. By 1890, the school had been renamed for President Abraham Lincoln. Valuing their public education, mány Lincoln School graduates became teachers: of 33 high school graduates in the first 8 classes. I would become schoolteachers. Dr. Edward Alexander Bouchet (Principal 1908-1913) added an intellectual rigor to Lincoln's curriculum. The nation's first Black Ph. D., Bouchet earned a doctorate in physics from Yale University in 1876.

Lincoln Colored School handed out its last high school diploma in 1918. It did not occur despite earlier attempts to desegregate Gallipolis schools, until Robert Mitchell filed a 1918 petition asking that his daughter. Lillian Mitchell, attend the newly created Gallia Academy High School.

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victorious ruling in Mitchell vs. the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Gallipolis, Ohio. was the first court-ordered school integration continued to be in Ohio. The city's primary school children, however, segregated for another 33 years. After P.T.A. President Pearl Scott won a 1951 petition to transfer the remaining Lincoln students to the Gallipolis A beacon system, the by-then dilapidated Lincoln Colored School closed. of hope and opportunity. Lincoln Colored School educated the Black children. of Gallipolis for eight decades.

Erected 2026 by William G. Pomeroy Foundation; John Gee Black Historical Center, Inc.; Ohio History Connection; America 250: Ohio Commission. (Marker Number 23-27.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the America 250: Ohio Commission, the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection, and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1868.

Location. 38° 48.928′ N, 82° 11.767′ W. Marker is in Gallipolis, Ohio, in Gallia

Lincoln Colored School Marker, Side Two image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 26, 2026

2. Lincoln Colored School Marker, Side Two

County. It is at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Olive Street, on the right when traveling west on 3rd Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 856 3rd Ave, Gallipolis OH 45631, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest,

in the Ohio River Valley,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Bethel AME Church of Gallipolis (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); African Methodist Episcopal Church (about 800 feet away); Gallipolis (about 800 feet away); Menager (approx. 0.2 miles away); Dr. Jonas Safford (approx. 0.2 miles away); Citizens of Gallipolis (approx. 0.2 miles away); In Memoriam (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hon. Samuel Finley Vinton (approx.

Lincoln Colored School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 26, 2026

3. Lincoln Colored School Marker

0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gallipolis.

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 26, 2026

4. Lincoln Colored School Marker

Photographed by Craig Doda, September 26, 2026

5. Lincoln Colored School Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 12 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 29, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.