Sarah Green Jones Atkinson (October 14, 1860 – November 14, 1943) was an American educator based in rural Virginia.
Born Sarah Green Jones, she was a native of Dinwiddie County, Virginia,[1] and born into a family of educators.[2]
After she married, she and her husband, John Pryor Atkinson, donated land and timber in 1911 to construct the first high school in Dinwiddie County.[3] She also supported teaching at the school. Sunnyside High School became the first eight-month rural school to gain accreditation in Virginia.[4] Students had that schedule because they were needed during the other months to work on family farms.
Atkinson was also known for her support of the local 4-H Club and its students, which provided education and training for young people in livestock and crop management, cooking and baking skills, and other needed activities.[5]
Atkinson also worked for women's suffrage in Virginia, serving on a state committee under Governor Andrew Jackson Montague. The committee convinced him to support women having the right to vote.[4]
Atkinson died in Dinwiddie County. She was interred in the graveyard of Concord Presbyterian Church in Rawlings, in neighboring Brunswick County.[1] Her name on the marker is given as "Sally", a common informal version of Sarah.[6]
Atkinson was honored in 1986 by a historical marker erected by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Historic Resources. It is located in Dinwiddie County, near the town of McKenney.[4]