Spring Grove in Surry County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Temperance Industrial and Collegiate Institute

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, June 24, 2014

1. Temperance Industrial and Collegiate Institute Marker

Inscription. On 12 Oct. 1892, Dr. John Jefferson Smallwood, born enslaved in 1863 in Rich Square, North Carolina, founded the Temperance Industrial & Collegiate Institute nearby with fewer than ten students. Sprawled over sixty-five acres on the James River in Claremont, his school provided a high level of education for African American boys and girls from Virginia and other states. After Smallwood’s untimely death on 29 Sept. 1912, his school underwent several mergers and name changes. By the time the school closed in 1928, more than two thousand students had attended.

Erected 2010 by Department of Historical Resources. (Marker Number K-331.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 29, 1912.

Location. 37° 9.931′ N, 76° 58.404′ W. Marker is in Spring Grove, Virginia, in Surry County. It is at the intersection of Colonial Trail West (Virginia Route 10) and Martin Luther King Highway ( Route 40), on the right when traveling east on Colonial Trail West. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Spring Grove VA 23881, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Coastal Virginia

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

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

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within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Wakefield and Pipsico (here, next to this marker); Swann’s Point (within shouting distance of this marker); Cabin Point (approx. 3½ miles away); Claremont School (approx. 3.6 miles away); Claremont (approx. 3.7 miles away); Quioughcohanach Indians (approx. 4.3 miles away); Jerusalem Baptist Church (approx. 4.8 miles away); Glebe House of Southwark Parish (approx. 4.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Spring Grove.

Also see . . . Surry County Historical Society. (Submitted on June 24, 2014.)

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, June 24, 2014

2. Temperance Industrial and Collegiate Institute Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 24, 2014, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,072 times since then and 88 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 24, 2014, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.