#rustburg

Rustburg Rosenwald School

As we were on the way to Patrick Henry’s Red Hill, Dr. Sherayko suggested we make a quick pit stop at the Rosenwald School being restored in Rustburg. According to SavingPlaces.com, there were over five thousand Rosenwald buildings, but now only 10-12% of them survive. The schools were built in the early 20th century by Booker T. Washington (African American educator) and Julius Rosenwald (President of Sears Roebuck) to educate and advance Black education across the south. With Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes, and systemic racism across the south, finding academic education for African Americans was next to impossible. Washington and Rosenwald put forth the first large-scale effort to bring widespread education for African Americans.

None of us expected more than a drive-by to see the progress undertaken thus far at the old Campbell County Training School. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw a full crew out and very welcoming to us curious visitors. We got the chance to meet Lorenzo Megginson, descendant of Lynchburg’s Megginson Rosenwald School founder, who oversees the site's rehabilitation. He was kind in allowing us into all of the buildings for a closer look and to give us a personal tour. The Rustburg school was one of the largest Rosenwald Schools ever built. When it was at its height, the campus had six buildings. Dormitories for teachers and students and another classroom space for home economics were victims of fire or just were torn down by the county. Thankfully, four buildings remain and we were able to see them. The auditorium and gym space, the four room high school, another classroom space, and the two room elementary are currently being renovated. The spaces were owned by Campbell County Schools for a while and were used as offices and storage. Megginson walked us through each building to provide wonderful information about what was and what is to come.

First we got a look inside the auditorium space. In the large room with vaulted ceilings, there was a stage and what seemed to be where a basketball goal once hung from the ceiling. Megginson explained to us that this space was a multipurpose room used as a classroom, cafeteria, gym, auditorium and much more when it was a part of the Rosenwald system. Later when it was owned by the school system, it was an office building. You can still see on the unfinished floors where cubicles once were. The best part of this space were the wooden floors that they were able to save. They are just a reminder of how the past is not so far from us. This space will be a community center for local organizations to use. Community is very important to Megginson - just as important as saving the complex’s history.

After looking in the most newly renovated auditorium, we walked into what was the four room high school. From where the space was briefly used after being a Rosenwald School in the 1960’s and 1970’s, there was wood paneling everywhere and the faint smell of cigarette smoke. It was truly a blast from the past. Megginson told us this space will be transformed into a museum and education center. What was most exciting and what we must keep a secret about are some of the wonderful artifacts that will be displayed in the old school. We cannot wait to be able to come back to visit this space and see the changes that have been made.

The last two stops were in the other building. Within this space, additional classrooms were renovated to house administrative offices of the Campbell County Training School Complex (CCTSC). Sadly, an electrical fire broke out after finishing the renovations and part of the building is in disrepair. Thankfully, the team was able to save most of the important documents and files. Part of the building still stands renovated and acts as an office and visitor center. We hope that it will also be fixed up again so the deserving staff can have a space of their own. We walked to our last stop on our impromptu tour, the elementary school. This is the most untouched building on the campus. The original green paint, pencil sharpener, and furniture are still there. It was so incredible to be so close to such rich history. This space will be a continuation of the museum and education center. As of now, it is acting as a storage space while the other buildings are being renovated, but it will be brought back to glory someday.

Meeting Lorenzo Megginson and being able to have a personal tour with him was a miracle. We were truly in the right place at the right time. We cannot thank him enough, or the extremely kind staffers, for allowing us to get an intimate look at the CCTSC. If you would like to learn more about the CCTSC, head to their website at: https://campbellcountytrainingschoolcomplex.org/ . We all would strongly encourage you to place a donation to the complex if you have the means. This wonderful organization seeks to provide a community centered education complex for all to enjoy. We cannot wait to be back in the future when it opens to the public!

Campbell County Confederate Monument (Please see next post for more pictures)

Another out of the blue stop on the way to Red Hill was the Campbell County Confederate Army Statue. Dedicated on September 17, 2016, the Lost Cause narrative is dripping from each side of the obelisk.

Fate denied them victory but crowned them with glorious immortality

This monument is dedicated to commemorate the courage and patriotism of the men from Campbell County who served honorably in the Confederate Army

Proved themselves worthy of the cause they were defending

The monument was erected by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans and, according to them, is in memory of “those who fought in the war of northern aggression.” The donors are all listed proudly on this very problematic monument. For the research team, this is one of the most problematic sites we have encountered. In a rural neighborhood, on private property, Confederate flags flying high, and engulfed in the Lost Cause narrative, this monument is one to question.

Red Hill - Brookneal

After our short stop at the Rosenwald School in Rustburg and a very random Confederate monument on private property, we commuted for about an hour to Brookneal to Patrick Henry’s Red Hill. As the last home and resting place of one of the founding fathers, the site presents Henry’s story through interpretation at the reconstructed main house, kitchen, and gardens. Henry’s law office has mostly remained the same as it is the only building to have survived a fire in 1919. The piece that we sought to see the most at Red Hill was the isolated cemetery utilized for African-American burials, which sits about half of a mile from the visitor’s center. It served as a reminder to us that Red Hill has a history tied to the enslavement of human beings, just like Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Though he owned slaves, our discussions with staff members at the visitor center depicted a fraught relationship between Henry and the institution. He supported legislation in 1782 during his governorship to allow Virginia slaveholders the ability to free their enslaved persons. As a Christian man, Henry stated in a 1773 letter that “a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil.” Though his rhetoric does not excuse his participation in the abhorrent institution of slavery, it does set Henry apart from men like Thomas Jefferson, who never expressed similar views. He was a moral man who played an integral part in the fight for American independence.

Red Hill is worth the trip for Virginians. A man of his time, Patrick Henry was a slave owner but was on the right path until he died in 1799. Though some remodels and additions were made to the modest site by John Henry, Patrick’s son, the grounds are interpreted as authentically as possible to the time of its most notable owner. As evidenced by the newly placed signs surrounded by dug-up red clay and our conversations with knowledgeable staff, interpretation covers the lives of the enslaved persons at the Red Hill plantation better than it ever has. We even learned that the orientation video shown in the visitor center is currently being edited to show the presence of enslaved persons in its narrative. Visitors need to know of the hardships endured by the enslaved throughout the life of Patrick Henry, as well as after his death. Many parents were separated from their young children after being sold to other slave owners. If historical interpretation at other similar sites follows the example of Red Hill, society will be more likely to understand the context of the past. We can then address the current issues of inequities that lay before us.