Pocahontas Supporters

Thank you for the tremendous interest and effort to save all of the historic buildings in this consequential school complex in Powhatan County. Pictured is the Class of 1969, the last to graduate from what was then an all-Black place of learning-- a place that from 1931 (as a colored training school) to 1969 (as the final year of Pocahontas High School) graduated more than 600 students.

As several of the buildings in the complex are in imminent danger of demolition, there are three crucial questions, which need to be addressed in the correct order:

1) How worthy of preservation is this history and are these structures?

2) What is the cost in terms of dollars, resources, time and effort required to save the buildings?

3) How might those costs be covered? In other words, what are the available assets in terms of public dollars, private commitments and community willingness available to reach an optimal outcome?

As proponents of rehabilitating and restoring all of the buildings that comprise Pocahontas, we believe it is critical to keep horses in front of carts-- to assess completely with input from all stakeholders what the true value of this landmark facility is, what its potential value for the community can be, before moving directly to an assessment based only on public dollars in hand and the will of a few community leaders who may not understand the full worth of Pocahontas. While it is imperative that we educate ourselves about the potential costs of demolition vs rehabilitation (e.g. what financial and engineering studies exist or may need to be conducted anew and how much money is available and from where?), let us keep the critical questions in the correct order and not subordinate the most important question-- does this complex deserve to be saved? Matters of money and administrative control should be secondary to the critical, primary question.

For those interested in knowing more about the Pocahontas origin story, our next updates will include more of the history of Pocahontas, starting with contributions from Dr. Demetrius Venable, graduate of the Pocahontas Class of 1966. He is a retired physicist and Howard University Professor Emeritus, who currently serves as Director of the Drexel-Morell Center in Powhatan. Dr. Venable has provided this excerpt from a 1937 letter from Black residents of Powhatan to the state Board of Education, discussing the impending construction of the new "colored school", which became Pocahontas.

Dear Sirs, 
You are aware of the construction of the high school for 
Negro children in Powhatan County. 
Mr. P C Williams, superintendent of schools in Powhatan 
County, exhibited a set of plans of a modern school building to 
an organized body of colored parents and teachers of the 
county.  He told us that the school which he intended to build 
would be entirely modern, having light, heat and plumbing 
facilities. 
At the time Mr. Williams thought that such a structure 
would be too much of a burden on the county’s treasurer and 
he asked our organization to raise three thousand dollars to be 
applied to such a building and he would start the construction 
of it on a piece of land that we had already purchased, paid for 
and deeded to the county for this purpose.   
We raised the $3000.00 and turned it over to the local 
school board.  Now the construction has started on a piece of 
land, not as desirable as the land we purchased.

This is a small part of a rich history worth knowing and preserving. In the coming days, expect to see more about the history and ways to weigh the questions regarding the future of Pocahontas in advance the upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday, July 28th at 6pm. Perhaps you plan to attend.

Thank you for your time and attention and for your willingness to contemplate how we can save all of Pocahontas.