A roadside sign will commemorate Whitesville Elementary, which served Black children in Accomack County from 1925 to 1964
PARKSLEY, Va. — A new historical marker will soon stand along a rural road in Virginia’s Eastern Shore, commemorating a school that served as both a beacon of hope and a reminder of the Jim Crow era’s educational inequities.
The marker, approved this month by Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources, will honor Whitesville Elementary School, which operated from 1925 to 1964 as one of thousands of schools built across the South to educate Black children during segregation.
The school served the children of Whitesville, an African American community that emerged in the 1880s alongside the town of Parksley. Its construction was made possible through a partnership between local Black families, who contributed $1,700, and the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which provided $900. Public funds covered the remaining $4,150.
The Rosenwald Fund, established in 1917 by Sears, Roebuck and Company president Julius Rosenwald in collaboration with Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute, helped build approximately 5,000 schools for Black students throughout the South. The initiative leveraged local community investment to expand educational opportunities during an era when segregated school systems typically provided inferior facilities and resources to Black students.
The marker will be installed at 23459 Leslie Trent Road, though officials have not announced a timeline for its erection. Whitesville Elementary closed in 1964, six years before Accomack County Public Schools achieved full desegregation in 1970.
The Whitesville marker is among nine new historical signs approved by the state agency. Others include recognition of early 20th-century literary societies in Richmond and a marker addressing “Racial Integrity” laws and their impact on Native American tribes in King William County.
These additions reflect Virginia’s ongoing effort to acknowledge previously overlooked chapters of its history, particularly those involving African American communities and the legacy of segregation. The state has installed hundreds of historical markers since the 1920s, with recent years seeing increased attention to stories that had been marginalized or omitted from the historical record.
For residents of Parksley and surrounding areas, the marker represents both historical recognition and a tangible connection to the generations of families who built and sustained their community during one of the most challenging periods in American history.
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‘For residents of Parksley and surrounding areas, the marker represents both historical recognition and a tangible connection to the generations of families who built and sustained their community during one of the most challenging periods in American history.’……….”I doubt very seriously that many of those residents could put their cell phones down long enough to realize that the sign was placed or exactly what those words really mean. The rest do not give a be-diddly-damn.”