Lucy F. Simms School Explained

Lucy F. Simms School
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:December 3, 2003[1]
Designated Other1 Number:115-5035
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Location:620 Simms Ave., Harrisonburg, Virginia
Coordinates:38.4545°N -78.858°W
Architect:Virginia Department of Education
Builder:Nielson Construction Company
Added:February 11, 2004
Refnum:04000040

The Lucy F. Simms School is a school building at 620 Simms Avenue in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 11, 2004.[2] Lucy F. Simms (born 1855, died July 10, 1934) was a former slave who went on to become an influential teacher in Harrisonburg.[3]

The school was located in north-eastern Harrisonburg, on the site of a previous school, the Effinger Street school. It was co-educational but was only available to African American children. The site had housed a school from around 1880 on what had previously been the Hilltop estate of the Gray family. The Lucy F. Simms school was built in 1938 and closed from 1966 when American schools finally became integrated and so open to all children.[4]

After the school's closure, the building remained empty until it was re-opened in 2005 as the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 19 March 2013.
  2. Web site: Lucy F.Simms School Final Nomination. 2004. 1 October 2013.
  3. Book: MacAllister . Dale E. . Lucy Frances Simms: From Slavery to Revered Public Service . 2020 . Lot's Wife Publishing Company . 9781934368497 . 305.
  4. Web site: The Life of Lucy F. Simms . Celebrating Simms: story of the Lucy F. Simms School . James Madison University and Shenandoah Black Heritage . 26 September 2021.