Boydton Academic and Bible Institute
Hidden by the woods are the impressive remains of what was once the Boydton Academic and Bible Institute.
When you're visiting Boydton, actually probably leaving it, going down Jefferson Street towards RT58, before you get to the Exxon station, if you slow down and look carefully to your right, as you're going down the curve of the road, back in the wooded area you'll see an old house. It was the original campus of the prestigious Randolph-Macon College.
This signage is what you’ll notice first.
Nothing on the premises will tell you that, but if you get on RT58 heading east you'll see a row of historical markers - one is for the marker for the Boydton Academic and Bible Institute. The Institute "was opened in 1879 in what had been the main building of Randolph-Macon College, before the college abandoned it and relocated to Ashland in 1868. Dr. Charles Cullis, a humanitarian from Boston, purchased the property in 1878 and opened the school partly to train African American preachers and teachers."
The Institute stood for "more than 30 years”
A close up of this class of students.
In 1910 the school was purchased by the Christian and Missionary Alliance of New York City. It was operated by the Alliance until 1916, when the school was forced due to lack of support. Shortly afterward, the property was transferred to an alumni board of trustees, who reopened it using tuition fees and private contributions. The new school added four years of high school courses to the curriculum, and in 1927 the first high school class graduated. After 1929, high school subject were dropped. The school continued to operate as an elementary school until 1935, when it was permanently closed. As a result of the efforts of Dr. Cullis, Mrs. Sharpe, and others, Boydton Institute produced many of the finest teachers and ministers of the past century in Mecklenburg County and the surrounding region."
The Helensha Cottage is a historic building in Boydton, Virginia, named for Helen Bradford Sharpe, the longtime headmistress of the influential Boydton Institute. The cottage was built around 1890 as her residence.
Please note that the house behind the signage that says, "Save the Original Campus of Randolph-Macon College" stands in front of the Helensha Cottage.
"Helensha Cottage is a historic building in Boydton, Virginia, that served as the residence for the headmistress of the former Boydton Institute...Built around 1890, the cottage housed Mrs. Helen B. Sharpe, the long-standing headmistress of the Boydton Institute....Named in her honor, the cottage's name, Helensha, recognizes Sharpe's dedication to the school...the Boydton Institute, a school for African Americans that occupied the original Randolph-Macon College campus from 1879 to 1940. "
Much is made of Randolph-Macon College but little is made, or even mentioned, of the Boydton Academic and Bible Institute . If you search the DHR ( Virginia Department of Historical Resources) has no information on Boydton Academic and Bible Institute in its database. But it will comment on Randolph-Macon College. It seems it's up to photographers and "amateur" historians like myself to preserve the memory of places such as this.
This is a part of our collective history. We should try to remember it, because the contributions of these men and women to our society and culture are felt today; even if it's just a gentle nudge.
For more information on the Boydton Academic and Bible Institute these links to PDF file will assist you in your research:
Deborah S. Hanson, a local historian that I have collaborated with wrote this to me:
”I wanted share this remarkable educator, a former student of the Boydton Institute with you. Mozella Jordan Price became a supervisor of the Rosenwald Schools in Appomattox County! She was also instrumental in fundraising activities to meet the Rosenwald Fund’s requirements of the African American community to contribute matching funds.”
