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 f...
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