Department of Historic Resources (www.dhr.virginia.gov) For Immediate Release May 11, 2021

Contact: Randy Jones, DHR Randy.jones@dhr.virginia.gov 540-578-3031

—The Rosenwald-funded school opened for African American students around 1923; photo of school available here—

 —The marker text reproduced below—

RICHMOND – A state historical marker issued by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will be dedicated this week that highlights Campbell County Training School, which opened for African American students around 1923 and was built with financial support from the local Black community, the county, and the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The marker will be dedicated during an unveiling ceremony on Saturday, May 15, beginning at 11 a.m., at the marker’s location alongside the historic school complex at 1470 Village Highway, Rustburg. The ceremony is open to the public and attendees must observe state mandates for covid pandemic protocols for wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Event speakers will include mistress of ceremonies Delores Nash Hicks; Del. Matthew Fariss; Campbell County deputy administrator Clifton Tweedy; former county supervisor Eddie Gunter; president of the Campbell County branch of the NAACP Reginald Herndon; architect Kevin Moore; the Reverend Waddell Jones of New Free Springs Baptist Church; marker financial donor Jason Watts; and members of the Campbell County Training School Complex Committee including chairperson Rev. Millicent Nash and members Bettie Douglas, Charlene Faulkner, Taryn Anthony, and Lorenzo Megginson. Musical contributions will be provided by the Silver Grove Baptist Church Men’s Chorus. Campbell County Training School (CCTS) opened after Black citizens campaigned for better schools during the era of segregated public schools, according to the historical marker. CCTS provided the first two-year high school program for African American student in the county. The school complex eventually expanded to include a teacher cottage, cafeteria, shop, and auditorium. In 1951, the county opened a new CCTS, which became Campbell County High School in 1952. It closed in 1969 after the county completed desegregation of its schools. Julius Rosenwald’s school fund, inspired by the work of Booker T. Washington, helped build more than 5,000 schools for Black students, including about 380 in Virginia between 1917 and 1932. The CCTS marker was approved for manufacture and installation in June 2020 by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, which has authority to designate new state historical markers. The sponsor, CCTS Complex Committee, covered the costs of manufacturing the marker. Virginia’s historical highway marker program, which began in 1927 with the installation of the first historical markers along U.S. Route 1, is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,600 official state markers, most maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, and by local partners in jurisdictions outside of VDOT’s authority. [PLEASE NOTE: DHR erects markers not to “honor” their subjects but rather to educate and inform the public about a person, place, or event of regional, state, or national importance. In this regard, markers are not memorials.] Text of marker:

Campbell County Training School

Campbell County Training School (CCTS) opened here ca. 1923 after African American citizens campaigned for better schools. The black community, the county, and the Julius Rosenwald Fund paid for its construction. Rosenwald, inspired by the work of Booker T. Washington, helped build more than 5,000 schools for black students. The Rev. Thomas Tweedy and Gabe Hunt are recognized as major local contributors to CCTS, which provided the county’s first two-year high school program for African Americans and later included a teacher cottage, cafeteria, shop, and auditorium. In 1951 a new CCTS opened nearby. Named Campbell County High School in 1952, it closed in 1969 when desegregation was completed.