Cornland School
Cornland School is a one-room African American schoolhouse built in 1902/03 by order of the Norfolk County School Board, Pleasant Grove District, (now Chesapeake). It replaced the original c. 1870 Benefit Colored School that was thought to have been built by formerly enslaved persons. On August 15, 1902, a committee was commissioned to oversee the construction of the new school, and in December 1902, the original school building was sold for $18. At the February 2, 1903 School Board meeting, the new schoolhouse was reported completed at a cost of $314.50. In 1904, the school was referred to as “Cornland School” for the first time in official School Board minutes and continued as such in all future references.1 It is worth noting there was also a white Cornland School and a white Benefit School in Norfolk County during this period.
Cornland School is a 20 ft. x 30 ft. building and had no electricity or running water until its closing. It contained grades 1-7 taught by a single teacher and was in use from 1903-1952 during the period of segregation. It closed its doors in 1952 when Southeastern Elementary School opened. Southeastern Elementary School became home to many students from the smaller African American schools in Norfolk County.2 From the elementary school, students could go on to attend Norfolk County High School (grades 7-12) then located in Cavalier Manor in Portsmouth (now Chesapeake), and later to the new Crestwood High School (1954-1971).
Cornland School was formerly located on private property belonging to alumnus, Randolph C. Snead, Sr. (1939-2021), and his wife, Wanza Snead, and the Snead Family heirs. In 2010, Randolph and Wanza Snead and Dr. Curtis Alexander met with Chesapeake Councilwoman, Dr. Ella P. Ward, seeking her assistance in preserving the school. Dr. Ward consulted with former Mayor William Ward and with his assistance, Cornland School Foundation, Inc. was formed in 2011. Under the leadership of Dr. Ella P. Ward, Board Chair, this dedicated group has worked to preserve the school, honor the alumni, and help tell their stories.
Thirty-two local Cornland School alumni were identified, and a reunion was held in November 2013. Students from Grassfield High School’s Human Geography Course conducted oral histories with the attendees. Other oral histories of former pupils and teachers had been previously collected by Wanza Snead. She stated that there are former pupils of Cornland School who have declined to tell their stories due to the painful memories of segregation. Additional oral interviews have been conducted to be used as part of the interpretations in The Cornland School Museum. Cornland School was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2015.
In 2018, the Snead Family sold the Cornland School building for one dollar ($1.00) to the Cornland School Foundation, Inc. In 2020, the Foundation donated the building to the City of Chesapeake. Cornland School remained on private property owned by the Snead Family on Benefit Road, adjacent to the New Foreman Temple AME Zion Church, until the City of Chesapeake had it relocated in August 2021 by Expert House Movers (they also moved the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1999). On its new site at 5221 Glencoe Street along the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail, a Groundbreaking Ceremony was held on November 9, 2023 to celebrate the beginning of the restoration of the school to be used as a museum. Brock Construction, Inc. was awarded the contract for the restoration project. Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism, the Cornland School Foundation, Inc., and the Cornland School alumni worked closely with Hanbury (architects) and Riggs Ward Design (exhibit designers) to design the museum. On June 29, 2024, a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held, and the first tours of the museum took place. After 13+ years, our mission to save and preserve Cornland School to continue to educate future generations came to fruition.
- Norfolk County School Board Minutes (Pleasant Grove) August 15, 1902 – April 22, 1922, pages 1-4, 15, located in the Chesapeake Central Library, Wallace Room.
- Norfolk County School Board Minutes (Pleasant Grove) 1944 – 1956, page 17, located in the Chesapeake Central Library, Wallace Room.
It is unknown as to whether the building in this photograph is of the current Cornland School building or is possibly a former building that served as Cornland School.
Preserving the Past to Educate the Future
View a short presentation about Cornland School and the effort to preserve it.