The Buena Vista Colored School

This small school was Buena Vista’s only school for Black children from 1892 to 1957, and students from first through seventh grade were enrolled here. When it opened, the two-room building did not have electricity or plumbing. A central wood stove – fueled by wood stored in the brick outbuilding – provided heat. The school burned in 1915 but was rebuilt. Electricity, a sink, and a water fountain were later added, but the facility never had indoor bathrooms. A third room was added in 1926 due to increasing enrollment. The building has been recognized as a Virginia Historic Landmark. Article from The Herald at Southern Virginia University on Medium. Edward “Black Ned” Tarr was the first free Black man to own property west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tarr’s blacksmith shop became a well-known landmark along the Great Wagon Road, which connected Philadelphia and the Carolinas. Route 11 roughly follows the path of the road through Virginia. A Righteous and Rascals of Rockbridge sidewalk paver at the Wells Fargo Plaza at the corner of Main and Nelson Streets in downtown Lexington commemorates Tarr. VMI History Professor Col. Turk McCleskey, gave a video lecture about Tarr at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in 2015. Those interred here include Harry Lee and Eliza Walker. Also buried here are Levi Miller and Jefferson “Jeff” Shields, two Black men who were forced to fight for the Confederacy. They were later lionized by Confederate heritage groups. After the war Shields became a notable mason and a leader in First Baptist Church. Veterans from both World Wars are also buried in the cemetery.