Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Side One: In the 1950s, there was a broad effort in the South to expand African American education and preserve the dual school system. To centralize the education of African American students in Vernon and the surrounding area, the Washington County School Board purchased six acres of land from Roland and Ida Pompey for a new school. The school board allocated $58,185 for the building of a new schoolhouse. Construction began in 1952, and was completed in time for the 1953 school year. Named Shady Grove Elementary School, the school offered grades 1-8. Students who completed eighth grade were bused to Roulhac High School in Chipley. Although the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision declared public school segregation unconstitutional, school integration did not immediately go into effect. It was not until May 28, 1965, a year after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that the Washington County School Board voted to end segregation in the county’s publicly funded schools. The resolution gave all pupils the freedom to choose to attend any school in the county, regardless of race, color, or national origin. Side Two: Following the Washington County School Board’s resolution, the 1965-66 school year saw two major changes. The dual school system in Washington County public schools ended, and the segregated transportation of African American high school students in Vernon to Chipley to attend high school ceased. The school board deactivated Shady Grove Elementary in 1969. The building was cut into sections and moved. Portions of it were used as classrooms in the newly built Vernon Elementary School. In 1991, the Washington County School Board transferred ownership of the Shady Grove Elementary property to the City of Vernon for use as a recreational space in perpetuity. This marker stands as a silent reminder of the role that Shady Grove Elementary School played in the education of African American children in Washington County. Shady Grove Teaching Staff Principals: Thomas J. McDougald, James McNeil, George Vann; Teachers: Alma K. Jenkins, Delores G. Jenkins, Mildred McDougald, Martha Barge, Maudlynn C. Johnson, Elenor Powell, Bobbie Moultrie, Elaine Smith, Benjamin Williams, Kay Frances Houston, Margaret Dotson, Mamie Roulhac Jackson, Dorothy Mae Slayton, Joseph Williams, and Alma Vann