2 Historic Sites Added-September 24, 2024

Constructed in 1915 at the request of local parishioners of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Charles City County, the Mica School provided education for Black children during 20th-century segregation in Virginia’s public school system until it closed in 1951. Records show that the school received Rosenwald funds, even though it was built be

Constructed in 1915 at the request of local parishioners of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Charles City County, the Mica School provided education for Black children during 20th-century segregation in Virginia’s public school system until it closed in 1951. Records show that the school received Rosenwald funds, even though it was built before the start of the official dispersal of program funds in 1917. The Mica School offered classes taught by a single teacher and accommodated as many as 50 students in multiple grade levels at a time. Community residents managed the school’s operations, including the maintenance and repair of the building and outhouses as well as raising funds for supplies and books.

The Parrish Hill School in Charles City County provided education for Black students during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in Virginia’s public schools. The school was built in 1920 using funds from the local Black community, the county, and the Rosenwald Fund. Construction of the Parrish Hill School meant that Black children in

The Parrish Hill School in Charles City County provided education for Black students during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in Virginia’s public schools. The school was built in 1920 using funds from the local Black community, the county, and the Rosenwald Fund. Construction of the Parrish Hill School meant that Black children in Parrish Hill no longer had to walk long distances to attend schools outside of their community. The single-story, two-classroom school closed in 1959, when the county began efforts to consolidate small schools.