AGENDA DATE: 5/7/2025
TITLE:
Title
Yancey Elementary School and Esmont Colored High School Historical Marker
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Request to approve a single double-sided historical marker for Yancey Elementary School and Esmont Colored High School
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Wall, Filardo, Barnes, McDermott, Maliszewski, Taggart
PRESENTER (S): N/A
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Historic Preservation Committee (HPC) has been working with the Office of Equity and Inclusion in support of the Board’s initiative to broaden the scope of our publicly told histories to be more inclusive of our community by obtaining Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) approval of new historical markers recognizing stories and contributions of women and people of color. The HPC has coordinated with the Yancey Community Center on draft text for a marker commemorating Yancey Elementary School and the Esmont Colored High School. Albemarle County owns the property.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Education & Learning - Support exceptional educational opportunities.
DISCUSSION: The historical marker text has been drafted (see below) to meet VDHR requirements and inform the public about B.F. Yancey, the elementary school named after him, and the high school that once occupied this site.
Yancey Elementary School (one side)
B.F. Yancey Elementary School opened in 1960 and was named after local educator, Benjamin Franklin Yancey (1870 -1915). Born in Howardsville, Mr. Yancey graduated from Hampton Institute and taught in southern Albemarle colored grade schools prior to his passing. Yancey school served area Black students in grades 1- 7 up to 1967, when Albemarle County fully integrated all schools. For the next fifty years the building served both as a school and a local community center, until 2017 when the School Board closed Yancey Elementary citing low enrollment. Today, the former school operates as the B.F. Yancey School Community Center.
Esmont Colored High School (one side)
Starting in 1868, several small schools operated in southern Albemarle for Black students. In 1911, the Colored Peoples Educational Board of Esmont purchased three acres to build the Esmont Colored High School. After years of negotiation, the county school board constructed a six-room building on this land in 1916 costing $4,000. The school served students in grades 1 - 11 until 1951, when Burley High School in Charlottesville opened to serve Black students. The Esmont school reorganized to serve elementary school students in grades 1 - 7 but was replaced by the all-new brick Yancey Elementary in 1960. The original Esmont school was demolished a few years later.
The HPC approved the marker text on February 24, 2025. The proposed marker location is safe, easily accessible, and clearly visible to those entering the community center parking lot.
BUDGET IMPACT: County funds have already been earmarked for this marker through the Office of Equity and Inclusion’s Cultural-Historical Initiative.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the Board approve the proposed historical marker for Yancey Elementary School/Esmont Colored High School.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Marker location map