The first school for African-Americans in Charles Town started in December 1865 at the home of Achilles and Ellen Dixon, African-Americans who lived on Liberty Street. It was taught by Freewill Baptist Missionary Anne Dudley.
Between 1868 and 1874, the Charles Town District Board of Education built a school on Harewood Avenue (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). Mr. Littleton L. Page was appointed principal. It was named the Charles Town District Colored School and is still standing.
In 1897, because of increased enrollment, a school was built on Eagle Avenue. Called the Eagle Avenue Colored School, it contained grades 1 through 8. Around 1920, more rooms were added. After the death of Mr. L.L. Page in 1914, Mr. Philip Jackson was appointed principal.
A new Eagle Avenue school was built in 1929. It was located on the corner of Harewood Avenue (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) and Eagle Avenue. Eagle Avenue School was closed at the end of the school year 1966. It was the last black school to close in Jefferson County.
In 1938, a high school for African-American students in Jefferson County was started in the elementary school. An annex was added for high school students in 1942. The school was named Page-Jackson High School in honor of Mr. Littleton L. Page and Mr. Philip Jackson, who had
died in 1937. The last principal of the High School was Mr. E.M. Dandridge. The first class graduated in 1942.
A high school, also named Page-Jackson was built on Mordington Avenue in 1951. It contained grades 9 through 12. Following the Supreme Court decision in 1954 which ended segregated schools, Page Jackson was closed 11 years later in 1965 and is now the office of the Jefferson County Board of Education.
Saint Philips Parochial and Industrial School on South Lawrence was started in 1900. The cost of attendance ranged from 25 to 45 cents per week. Subjects taught were the basic classes, plus religion, carpentry, sewing, and printing. The school closed during the Depression Era.
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