The Patrick County Democratic Committee, along with members of the Patrick County Historical Society, started cleaning up the site of Patrick County’s Indian Knob School on April 13. One former student and family members of former students also joined the cleanup. Years of accumulated trash, including abandoned appliances and furniture, made the site dangerous for those evaluating the rehabilitation of the building. The group collected and hauled away three truckloads of garbage and recyclables. Members also cut and stacked downed trees and limbs in the heavily forested site. Willie Mae Ware shared her memories of attending the school with the crew during the cleanup. Another day will be scheduled in May to finish the work.
Indian Knob School is in the far southern part of Patrick County. The county school board purchased the site in 1932 and a two-room school soon opened to offer instruction in grades one through six for Black students. Earlier records from the 1920s identify a church at this location; we do not know if that building ever served as a school. The school operated until 1952 when Patrick Central School opened offering twelve grades of instruction for Black students (the first high school for Blacks in the county). Indian Knob School is believed to be the oldest standing school for Blacks in Patrick County. It is a rather surprisingly impressive building on its knoll in the woods and is a valuable historic site near a major highway in our county.
Bill Hines, who lives in the Five Forks community, remembered his year at Indian Knob.
“I can’t believe I’m writing this. When I was starting school, writing was my weakness. I am writing my biography to tell the story of my growing up. I started the first grade at Indian Knob two room school. In 1952 our new school was built (Patrick Central), the only school in the county for Black children,” Hines wrote.
The Patrick County Historical Society has applied for a grant to preserve Indian Knob School. The owner has asked the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to evaluate the site, requesting that it be designated an historic landmark. As a landmark, the school and site would have a roadside historical marker. The society continues to research the history of Indian Knob and interview some known former students.
If you are a former student of Indian Knob School, or know of someone who may be, please call the Historical Society at (276) 694-2840 or email johnreynolds50@usa.net.
