Celebrating Black History Month. Students and teacher in front of the Brownsburg School in the late 1920s. The teacher is Mrs. Ida Sue Choice. This school building, located three miles northeast of Marlinton, was in use by the 1880s and was originally named McDowell. The name was changed to Brownsburg School in 1907. Some of the teachers at Brownsburg were: E. Leola Lewis, 1912; Nicy A. Morris, 1913; Lila M. Powell, 1914-15; C. H. Bundy, 1919-20; Georgianna Hill, 1921; Glova Carter, 1923-24; Ida Sue Brown Choice, 1925-35; Faye D. Truss; 1936. Brownsburg was one of five schools attended by black students in Pocahontas County prior to the desegregation of public schools in 1954. Students in these schools had to leave the county to attend high school. By 1966, all schools in the county were integrated. The Brownsburg School closed in 1953 and the building still stands today. Photo courtesy of Ginny McLaughlin Shaw, ID: PHP002163
Access the “Preserving Pocahontas” Digital Library at www.pocahontaspreservation.org or www.preservingpocahontas.org If you have historical records or photographs to be scanned for the county Historical Archive contact Preservation Officer B. J. Gudmundsson at 304-799-3989 or email info@pocahontaspreservation.org Prints of photographs are available.