Nomination Form
The Peabody Building of the Peabody-Williams School, designed by Charles M. Robinson, a prolific architect of educational facilities across the state, opened in 1920 as the public high school for African American students in Petersburg. It was built during the period of segregated school systems. The Peabody Building housed the high school, while its twin, the Williams Building (destroyed by fire in 1967), housed the junior high school. It was the third building in Petersburg to serve as a high school for African American students, and the first built exclusively as a high school. In 1950, a new facility was constructed and an elementary school occupied the building until the 1960s. Today, the Peabody Building is the oldest extant school in Petersburg built for the education of African American children.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
