Jefferson School (Charlottesville, Virginia)

Jefferson School, Carver Recreation Center, and School Site
Location 233 Fourth St., NW, Charlottesville, Virginia
Coordinates 38°01′56″N 78°29′13″W / 38.0321°N 78.4870°W / 38.0321; -78.4870Coordinates: 38°01′56″N 78°29′13″W / 38.0321°N 78.4870°W / 38.0321; -78.4870
Area 4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built 1926 (1926), 1938-39, 1958, 1959
Architect Calrow, Browne, and Fitz-Gibbons
NRHP reference # 06000050[1]
VLR # 104-5087
Significant dates
Added to NRHP February 15, 2006
Designated VLR December 7, 2005[2]

The Jefferson School is a historic building in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was built to serve as a segregated high school for African American students. The school, located on Commerce Street in the downtown Starr Hill neighborhood, was built in four sections starting in 1926, with additions made in 1938-39, 1958, and 1959. It is a large two-story brick building, and the 1938-1939, two-story, rear addition, was partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA).[3]

This building on operated from 1926-1951 as Charlottesville's first high school for Black students. In 1951, it became an elementary school for Black students. In 1958, Jefferson School students sought application to local white-only schools, sparking the city government to join the statewide massive resistance movement against school integration. After serving many uses over the following decades, it reopened in 2013[4] as the Jefferson School City Center, a multi-use facility that houses the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, the Carver Recreation Center, and local community organizations.[5]

High School (1926-1951)

The school was opened in 1926 after community members petitioned the Charlottesville City Council to create a high school for Black students.[6] Before that time, Black students attended the Jefferson Colored/Graded Elementary School[7] which ran only through the eighth grade.[8] It was one of six accredited high schools for Black students in Virginia at the time.[9] During the 1950-1951 academic year, there were 335 students enrolled from grades 7 to 11.[10] Before the school closed in 1951, the school had a boys basketball team, girls basketball team, and a boys football team.[10] Student activities included French Club, Dramatics Club, School Band, and Glee Club.[10] Prominent alumni include football player Rosey Brown.

In 1941 the Jefferson High School Music Department consisted a school band and three organized groups: The Girls' Glee Club; The Singing Privateers, an all-male chorus; and a Mixed Chorus of sixty voices, representing a combination of the two former groups.[11] The Jefferson High School Band performed for various churches, schools, and clubs. In May of 1941 they performed at the Paramount Theater.[11] By 1945 the High School Band was accompanying the school football team to perform at games in Richmond.[12]

In 1951, Burley High School opened in the nearby Rose Hill neighborhood to accommodate students from Jefferson and other area Black high schools.


Elementary School (1951-

The school served Black students through the eighth grade beginning in 1951. In 1958, the NAACP filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jefferson School students who sought the opportunity to transfer to nearby white-only schools.

Integrated Middle School (1965-1967)

For two years the school served all Charlottesville sixth graders, in an attempt, spurred by the NAACP and local organizations, to facilitate the thorough integration of Charlottesville's schools.[13]

Historic status

In 2005, the building was proposed to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it received that designation in 2006.[6] Two historical markers in Charlottesville commemmorate "The Triumph of the Charlottesville Twelve," three students who integrated Lane High School and nine Jefferson School students who integrated Venable Elementary School, on September 8, 1958, prompting the closures of those schools a few days later.[14]

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Maral S. Kalbian and Margaret T. Peters (August 2005). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Jefferson School, Carver Recreation Center, and School Site" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying four photos
  4. ↑ "Former Jefferson School transformed, renewed". The Daily Progress. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  5. ↑ "Jefferson City Center: Soul of the City". jeffersonschoolcitycenter.org. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  6. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). 29 December 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "Jefferson School | African American Historic Sites Database". African American Historic Sites Database. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  8. ↑ "Jefferson School History". Piedmont Virginia Community College. 2014-01-24. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  9. ↑ "Jefferson School | African American Historic Sites Database". African American Historic Sites Database. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  10. 1 2 3 Alston, E.B. (19 May 1951). "A Bird's-eye View of Jefferson High School". Charlottesville Tribune.
  11. 1 2 "Cherished Thoughts 1941 Jefferson High School Yearbook". Jefferson High School Yearbook (1941). 1941.
  12. ↑ "Crimson and Black 1945 Jefferson High School Yearbook". Jefferson High School Yearbook (1945). 1945.
  13. ↑ "Jefferson School | African American Historic Sites Database". African American Historic Sites Database. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  14. ↑ "The Charlottesville 12 -- Events to honor 1st integrated students". The Daily Progress. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
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