Woodlawn High School (Woodlawn, Virginia)

Last updated
Woodlawn High School
Location
Woodlawn High School (Woodlawn, Virginia)
Woodlawn
,
Virginia
24381

United States
Coordinates 36°43′37″N80°49′07″W / 36.72694°N 80.81861°W / 36.72694; -80.81861 Coordinates: 36°43′37″N80°49′07″W / 36.72694°N 80.81861°W / 36.72694; -80.81861
Information
School typeprivate / normal institute / public secondary
Founded1878
Statusconsolidated into Carroll County High School (Virginia) in 1969
Colour(s)   Maroon and White
MascotRaiders
NewspaperThe Reminder
YearbookRaider
Woodlawn School
Woodlawn School.jpg
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
NRHP reference No. 100003322 [1]
VLR No.017-5160 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJanuary 17, 2019
Designated VLRSeptember 20, 2018

Woodlawn High School, later known as Woodlawn School, was a public secondary school located in Carroll County, Virginia, at Woodlawn, Virginia. The school served students in all grades, one through twelve, for much of its history. The last academic year as a high school was 1968-1969. One hundred and four seniors graduated in the final class of 1969. The following year all tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade students became part of the new Carroll County High School (Virginia). [3] After 136 years of service the Carroll County School Board voted to close the school in 2013. The school was repurposed and refurbished as “Woodlawn School Apartments”

Contents

History

The school was founded in 1878 by Isaac A. Minor as a private school called the Woodlawn Male and Female Academy. In 1898 the name was changed to the Woodlawn Normal Institute and later to Woodlawn High School in 1907. It became the first public high school in Carroll County and was among the earliest in the state of Virginia. [4]

Early years

Woodlawn Male and Female Academy was a boarding school attracting students from several nearby counties and states. While most out-of-state students were from North Carolina, one student was known to attend the school from as far away as California. There were 123 students enrolled with 25 teachers on staff in 1898. A dormitory was constructed on campus to house students but was destroyed by fire in 1903. [5]

A new three story dormitory followed in 1904 with a cafeteria, parlor, music room and rooms for boarders. At one time it also contained one of the first circulating school libraries in Virginia. This building was later used by the high school for a cafeteria, supply store and extra classrooms until it too was destroyed by fire on January 27, 1960. [6]

Woodlawn High School's early, main academic building. Construction began in 1907 and the building opened in 1909. WoodlawnHighSchool1909.jpeg
Woodlawn High School's early, main academic building. Construction began in 1907 and the building opened in 1909.

The Virginia General Assembly doubled the state's education budget in 1906 and passed the Mann High School Bill. This bill, named after Senator William Hodges Mann of Nottoway County, obligated the state to pay matching funds to any district that built a high school. Over the next four years, Virginia school districts constructed 285 new high schools including Woodlawn. [7]

The honorable Claude A. Swanson was governor of Virginia in 1906 when money was appropriated to establish a public high school at Woodlawn. The school also received additional funds to provide teacher training in conjunction with the high school. This was before the establishment of Radford State Teachers College (Radford University), hence there were no institutions for teacher training in this section of Virginia at that time. [8]

Construction of the high school's early, main academic building began in 1907 on twelve acres of land. Members of the Woodlawn community raised the needed funds for the project themselves without government assistance. The building opened to students on January 19, 1909. Two additional classrooms and an auditorium were added to the building in the 1930s. Four additional classrooms were added to house elementary grades in the early 1950s. [9]

First vocational agriculture classes in the United States

Woodlawn High School became the first public secondary school in the United States to offer vocational agricultural education classes under the Smith-Hughes Act. J. Lee Cox, superintendent of Carroll County Schools at the time, 1917, is given much credit for seeing the need for vocational agriculture classes. He went to the state capitol and persuaded the governor, Henry Carter Stuart, to let him develop the classes at Woodlawn. [10] Fred R. Kirby, the first teacher of agriculture at the school, was named Master Teacher of the South in 1933. [4] Kirby's successor, W.L. Creasy, was also named Master Teacher of the South in 1936. [11]

The agricultural classes greatly benefited the rural farming areas around Woodlawn. They offered students instruction in many areas including: farm administration, crop cultivation, crop fertilization, erosion control, livestock care, forestry, building maintenance and building construction. [12] Noted accomplishments of the classes included: higher yields on area farms, greater crop diversity, substantial investment in dairy and beef production, the introduction of permanent pastures, use of strip cropping to increase crop yield and decrease soil erosion. [11] The classes also aided in the establishment of a Carnation Milk plant in nearby Galax, Virginia to support area dairy farms. Most importantly, the classes increased interest in school among young boys versus quitting school early. [13]

1924 home economics cottage as it appeared in 2018. Homeeco.jpg
1924 home economics cottage as it appeared in 2018.

Home economics was added to the curriculum in 1916. A cottage was built on campus in 1924 to house this department. In 1962, the home economics department was moved to a new high school building and the cottage became the home of the high school band. It was renovated again in 1975 and served for many years as the Carroll County Adult Education Center. [14]

Construction of a new, modern high school building was begun in the summer of 1961. The building included many new classrooms, science labs, a home economics department, library, cafeteria, a business department and administrative offices. The building opened for the 1962-1963 academic year on what had been the footprint of the 1904 dormitory. That same year brought additional students, additional faculty members, an elementary/secondary band program and an expanded curriculum offering students more course choices.

Consolidation into Carroll County High School

The last year for Woodlawn High School was 1968-1969 with consolidation into Carroll County High School (Virginia) located just outside the town limits of Hillsville, Virginia. The school became an intermediate school for grades K-9 beginning with the 1969-70 academic year. [15]

Kylene Barker, Miss Virginia 1978 and Miss America 1979, attended the school in the early 1970s. She became the first Miss Virginia to win the Miss America title. [16]

Map of Virginia highlighting Carroll County Map of Virginia highlighting Carroll County.svg
Map of Virginia highlighting Carroll County

In 1974 the school's entire physical plant was renovated. A new gymnasium, library, band room, music room, art department, vocational agriculture department, career development center and additional classrooms were added. The cafeteria was enlarged and administrative offices were expanded.

The school became a K-7 school in 1993 with the moving of eighth and ninth grade students to Carroll County Intermediate School in Hillsville, Virginia. In 2005, grade K-5 students were moved to new, expanded county elementary schools, creating Woodlawn Middle School housing grades six and seven only. [15] Woodlawn Middle School was officially closed in June, 2013. Beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year, students attended the newly formed Carroll County Middle School Hillsville, Virginia. [17]

After the school's closing

In July 2018, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based real estate development and property management firm (Landmark), entered into an agreement with the Carroll County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to refurbish and repurpose Woodlawn School. The approximate $9.8 million project will convert the building to 51 affordable one, two and three-bedroom apartments. The project will also feature amenities such as a park, walking trail and children’s recreation facilities. [18]

Front entrance of Woodlawn School, Spring 2019. Woodlawn School.jpg
Front entrance of Woodlawn School, Spring 2019.

In September 2018, the school was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. This is the state's official list of important historic sites, it was created in 1966. [19] On January 17, 2019, Woodlawn School was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is the official list of historic buildings, districts, sites, structures, and objects worthy of preservation in the United States of America. It was established as part of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and is overseen by the National Park Service. [20]

Community

The area of present day Woodlawn, located in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, began as a land grant to James Wood of Frederick County, Virginia in 1756. His son, James Wood, served as governor of Virginia from 1796-1799.

Autumn meadow scene near Woodlawn, Virginia. Elevation 2,520 ft (768 m). AutumnField.png
Autumn meadow scene near Woodlawn, Virginia. Elevation 2,520 ft (768 m).

The Treaty of Lochaber, between British representative John Stuart (loyalist) and the Cherokee, made the land available for settlement about 1770. The original James Wood willed the land to his wife Mary who willed it to her grandsons. It is thought that none of the Wood family ever lived in Woodlawn. [21]

In the later years students at Woodlawn High School came from five main feeder schools—from the west they came from Gladeville Elementary and from the southwest Oakland Elementary. Both schools were located near Galax, Virginia. Students also came from Woodlawn Elementary, Vaughn Elementary near Fries, Virginia and from Laurel Elementary to the north.

Staff

Professor George Ivy served as principal of the Woodlawn Male and Female Academy. Everett E. Worrell was the first principal of the Normal School, followed by F. H. Combs and C.C. Carr.

E.J. Cooley served as the first principal of Woodlawn High School. In 1906, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Mann High School Act establishing the first high schools in the state. [22] WHS principals following Cooley were: S.A. McDonald, Zelma Kyle, B.M. Cox, B. M Wright, P.W. Jones, Foy E. DeHaven, R. S. Gardner, Paul Cox, James Combs and F. S. DeVault. [23]

Zelma Kyle served as president of the Virginia Education Association from 1946-1948. He also served as the assistant supervisor of secondary education for the Virginia Department of Education from 1946 until his retirement in 1963. [24]

First Senior Trip

The first full four-year graduates of WHS received their diplomas in June 1910. Fourteen students walked across the stage at that ceremony. After graduation, class members, several faculty members and administrators boarded a chartered coach on the Norfolk and Western railroad for a tour of Virginia. Stops included Roanoke, Lynchburg, Richmond and Norfolk. From Norfolk they sailed the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore then traveled to Washington, D.C., touring the city for several days. The group returned by way of Monticello and the University of Virginia. The entire trip took fifteen days. [25]

Band

The Woodlawn High School Marching Raiders Band was founded in 1962. The band performed in numerous area and national parades, at special events, concerts, festivals, state and regional competitions, WHS football games and band days at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. Each school year was capped off with the band's year end celebration—a picnic along with time for fun and games at Cumberland Knob Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Jerry Liles served as the high school's first and only full-time band director. He continued at the intermediate school after the high school was consolidated into Carroll County High School (Virginia).

Athletics

Woodlawn Male and Female Academy had a well rounded athletic program including baseball, football, tennis and track. Football was later dropped as a sport but returned in the fall of 1967. As a high school, Woodlawn produced some outstanding basketball teams during the mid-to-late 1960s but it was baseball that became the Raiders most prominent sport. [26]

Former WHS baseball player, Yancey Wyatt Doc Ayers went on to become a successful major league baseball pitcher for the Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers. He gained the nickname "Doc" after he enrolled in the Medical College of Virginia, now the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond. While at MCV, he bought a book on pitching. He was a catcher at WHS but when the call came for college baseball tryouts he reported as a pitcher. [27]

In 1964 the school’s baseball team began a streak of forty-one consecutive victories stretching into the 1967 season. [28] During this streak on April 21, 1966, pitcher Harry Isom recorded a seven inning (standard for high school) perfect game. Isom not only pitched a perfect game but also struck out all twenty-one batters he faced. [29] As of April 2016, the feat had never been duplicated in 100 years of Virginia High School League (VHSL) baseball. [30] The story was picked up by the Associated Press and sent to newspapers and other media outlets across the country. [31]

Related Research Articles

Galax, Virginia Independent city in Virginia, United States

Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720.

Hillsville, Virginia Town in Virginia, United States

Hillsville is a town in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,681 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County.

Woodlawn, Carroll County, Virginia CDP in Virginia, United States

Woodlawn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,343 at the 2010 census. Woodlawn is musically notable as the home of Heritage Shoppe and Heritage Records, a store and record label owned by Bobby Patterson, a musician from a regionally important family of performers. Heritage Records specializes in local musicians, and also releases recordings from the Old Fiddlers' Convention in Galax, Virginia.

H-B Woodlawn Public school in Arlington, Virginia, United States

The H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, commonly referred to as H-B, or HBW, is a democratic alternative all-county public school located in Arlington County, Virginia, United States based on the liberal educational movements of the 1960s and 1970s. The school, which serves grades 6 through 12, is a part of the Arlington Public Schools district.

W. H. Adamson High School School in Dallas, Texas, United States

William Hardin Adamson High School, formerly Oak Cliff High School, is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is part of the Dallas Independent School District and is classified as a 5A school by the UIL. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.

Henrico County Public Schools

The Henrico County Public Schools school system is a Virginia school division that operates as an independent branch of the Henrico County, Virginia county government and administers public schools in the county. Henrico County Public Schools has five International Baccalaureate schools – John Randolph Tucker High School, Henrico High School, Fairfield Middle School, Tuckahoe Middle School and George H. Moody Middle School.

John Handley High School High school in Winchester, Virginia, United States

John Handley High School is an endowed public high school located in the city of Winchester, Virginia. It is a part of Winchester Public Schools.

There are six middle schools in Arlington County, Virginia, administered by Arlington Public Schools.

Robert Russa Moton Museum

The Robert Russa Moton Museum is a historic site and museum in Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia. It is located in the former Robert Russa Moton High School, considered "the student birthplace of America's Civil Rights Movement" for its initial student strike and ultimate role in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case desegregating public schools. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, and is now a museum dedicated to that history. In 2022 it was designated an affiliated area of Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. The museum were named for African-American educator Robert Russa Moton.

Rapidan, Virginia Unincorporated community in Virginia, United States

Rapidan is a small unincorporated community in the Virginia counties of Culpeper and Orange, approximately 5 miles (8 km) northeast of the Town of Orange. The community, located on both sides of the Rapidan River, was established in the late eighteenth century around the Waugh's Ford mill. The Orange and Alexandria Railroad built a line through the town in 1854, a post office was built at the river crossing, and its name was changed to Rapid Ann Station. Milling remained a major industry in the area up through the mid-twentieth century.

Woodlawn High School (Maryland) Public school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Woodlawn High School (WHS) is a four-year public high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The school opened in the fall of 1961. Prior to that, students in the area attended Catonsville, Milford Mill, or Franklin High Schools. In the fall of 2017, Woodlawn offered an Early College Program to help students prepare for university education.

Virginia High School is a high school located in Bristol, Virginia. In 1999, Virginia High started offering the Tri-Cities area's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Classes from the Advanced Placement program are also offered to help students who are headed to college. A career and technical wing was added to the main school building to help students who wish to go into a trade straight from high school. Courses offered for this path include: culinary arts, cybersecurity, engineering and manufacturing, coding, business, horticulture, auto-mechanics, building trades, and nursing.

Former New Kent High School United States historic place

New Kent High School is a historic school in New Kent, Virginia. The school, along with the nearby George W. Watkins Elementary School, is associated with the landmark Supreme Court case Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (1968), in which the court defined what the standards of Brown v. Board of Education were in the desegregation cases. This decision ended the era of Massive Resistance and ushered in the era of integration.

Carroll County, Virginia County in Virginia, United States

Carroll County is a United States county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Roughly one fifth of the county lies in the Virginia Piedmont region, while the rest is part of the Appalachian Mountains. The county seat and largest town is Hillsville.

Carroll County Courthouse (Virginia) United States historic place

The Carroll County Courthouse is a historic county courthouse located at Hillsville, Carroll County, Virginia. It was built between 1870 and 1875, and is a two-story brick building with a gable roof. It features a two-story, pedimented portico in the Doric order. The building is topped by an octagonal cupola. The courthouse was the scene of the famous Hillsville massacre of March 14, 1912, in which five persons, including the presiding judge, were killed in a courtroom battle.

Matthew Whaley School United States historic place

Matthew Whaley School is a public elementary school located in Williamsburg, Virginia, occupying a historic school building. It is within the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools.

Woodlawn High School (WHS) is a comprehensive public high school serving students in grades 7 through 12 in the rural community of Woodlawn, Cleveland County, Arkansas, United States. It is one of two public high schools located in Cleveland County and is the sole high school of the Woodlawn School District.

Hillsville Historic District Historic district in Virginia, United States

Hillsville Historic District is a national historic district located at Hillsville, Carroll County, Virginia. The district encompasses 14 contributing buildings and 1 contributing object in the core commercial district of Hillsville. Notable properties include the Carter Building (1857), Carroll County Bank (1907), and the Hillsville Diner (1936). Also in the district is the former U.S. Post Office (1951) that houses the Carroll County Historical Society. The remaining buildings are two- and three-story brick commercial buildings from the 1930s and 1940s. The Carroll County Courthouse is located in the district and separately listed.

Stafford Training School United States historic place

Stafford Training School, also known as H.H. Poole Junior High School, H.H. Poole High School: Stafford Vocational Annex, Rowser Educational Center, and the Rowser Building, is a historic school building for African American students located at Stafford, Stafford County, Virginia. The original section was built in 1939, and enlarged in 1943, 1954, 1958, and 1960. After the 1954 addition, the facility consisted of: eight standard classrooms, a principal's office, a clinic and teacher's lounge, library, homemaking department, cafeteria kitchen, combination auditorium-gymnasium, and modern rest rooms. Total enrollment for the 1955-1956 session was 228 and the value of the school plant was $200,000.

S. Floyd Landreth American politician

Sydney Floyd Landreth was an American lawyer, banker and Republican politician from Galax, Virginia who represented the 14th state senatorial district for two decades. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Virginia in 1945.

References

  1. ↑ National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved from https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/historic-preservation/historic-building-stewardship/national-register-of-historic-places/
  2. ↑ Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved from https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/
  3. ↑ Graduation Set for June 4. (May 29, 1969) The Carroll News, p. 1.
  4. 1 2 Worrell, A. (2009, January) Woodlawn School Tabbed for Historical Marker. The Carroll News. Retrieved from http://www.thecarrollnews.com/view/full_story/5528284/article-Woodlawn-School-tabbed-for-historical-marker.
  5. ↑ Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p. 9.
  6. ↑ Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p. 8-10.
  7. ↑ Encyclopedia Virginia. http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Progressive_Movement Time Line 1906.
  8. ↑ Looking Back Over Half a Century (1962, March) The Reminder (WHS school newspaper). p. 5.
  9. ↑ Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p. 12.
  10. ↑ Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p.15.
  11. 1 2 Educational Pioneer Lauded by Friends, Kin. (1987, October 11) The Carroll News. pp. 1A-6A.
  12. ↑ Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved from https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/
  13. ↑ FFA Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary. (1954, February) The Reminder (WHS school newspaper). p. 1.
  14. ↑ History of Great School. (May–June,1969) The Reminder, p. 1.
  15. 1 2 Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p. 22.
  16. ↑ Raider 1979 (Woodlawn school yearbook) p. 25.
  17. ↑ Woodlawn School Closing After a Century of Service (May 23, 2013) WXII12.com. Retrieved from http://www.wxii12.com/news/local-news/virginia/woodlawn-school-closing-after-century-of-service/20251496
  18. ↑ Woodlawn School to be converted into apartments (July 11, 2018) Retrieved from http://www.thecarrollnews.com/news/4716/woodlawn-school-to-be-converted-into-apartments
  19. ↑ DHR Adds Six Places to Virginia Landmarks Register in September. (September, 2018) Retrieved from https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/news/dhr-adds-six-places-to-virginia-landmarks-register-in-september/#more-15609
  20. ↑ National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm
  21. ↑ Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p. 8.
  22. ↑ Encyclopedia Virginia. http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Eggleston_Joseph_Dupuy_Jr_1867-1953< para. 6.
  23. ↑ Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p.14.
  24. ↑ Past VEA President Passes. Virginia Journal of Education. January, 1972. Volume 65, Number 5. p. 31.
  25. ↑ Looking Back Over Half a Century (1962, March) The Reminder (WHS school newspaper). p. 5.
  26. ↑ Woodlawn. (2006, Spring) Vol. 25. Carroll County Chronicles. p. 9.
  27. ↑ Society for American Baseball Research, Doc Ayers. Retrieved from http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/95ee682f.
  28. ↑ It was Incredible, Woodlawn’s Forty-one Game Win Streak. (1983, April 11) Galax Gazette, pp. 2-3.
  29. ↑ Pitcher Faces 21 Men, Strikes Them All Out. (1966, April 22). Roanoke Times. p. 32.
  30. ↑ Once in a Lifetime: Woodlawn pitcher Harry Isom’s feat has never been duplicated in 100 years of VHSL baseball. (2016, April 21) The Carroll News. Retrieved from http://thecarrollnews.com/news/1453/once-in-a-lifetime .
  31. ↑ Fantastic Woodlawn Exploits Hard for Anyone to Believe. (1966, May 1) Roanoke Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.