Volume 21, Issue 3
October 2010
Chronicle
Campbell County Historical
Courthouse
Campbell County Historical Society
P.O. Box 595 Rustburg VA 24588
Timberlake District - Campbell County Schools
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Leesville Road Elementary School
2
Special points of interest:
2
My Family and Education in
Campbell County
3
Leesville Road Elementary School
4
Leesville Road Elementary School
CCHS to Publish a County Pictorial
History
4
Campbell County Historical Society
Calendar of Events
5
Cemetery News
5
Map and directions to Coles Ferry
Plantation
6
Photo from 1966 Falcon Yearbook
Special points
of interest:
Campbell County
Historical Society
Membership meeting is
on Sunday, October 24,
2010 at 2:00 P. M. The
meeting will be a tour of
Historic Collins Ferry
Plantation. Members
who want to car pool will
meet at the Court House
Square at 1:15 P.M.
Leesville Road Elementary
School was established in
the fall of 1960 located on
Leesville Road and began
its proud history with
approximately 420
students in grade levels 1
through 7. The school
opened with three units:
one unit contained eight
classrooms, another six
classrooms and the third
unit consisted of the
library, teacher’s room,
resource room, and a
projection room. There
were 14 teachers, a
principal, and two
custodians. The campusstyle facility was designed
by Mr. Carl Cress and
constructed by English
Construction Company.
The first principal was Mr.
Andrew Foley. The
administration building
and cafetorium were
completed in late fall of
1960 and two new units,
each containing four
classrooms were added in
1961. The resource and
projections rooms were
also converted into
classrooms making a total
of twenty-four
classrooms, an
administrative suite,
media center, and
cafetorium.
In 1965, Mr. Robert Hicks
became principal and
Mrs. Boolie Martin was
his secretary. She
remained secretary for
the next three principals
until her retirement in
1992. In 1966 during Mr.
Hicks’ tenure, grades six
and seven were
transferred to the old
Brookville High School
building which became
Brookville Middle School.
Mr. Hugh Pendleton
followed as principal of
LRES in 1967 when Mr.
Hicks became principal of
the new Brookville High
School on Laxton Road.
Mr. Jack Ballard
succeeded Mr. Pendleton
in 1971. Mr. Ballard
remained principal for ten
years when he was
appointed Director of
Elementary Education for
Campbell County Schools.
Page 2
Chronicle
Leesville Road Elementary School Continued
LRES served grades one
through five from 1966 until
1973 when grade six was again
housed at LRES for two years.
During this time several mobile
classrooms were added to
accommodate the increasing
enrollment. Kindergarten was
added during the 1973-’74
school year on a half-day basis.
In 1974 when Tomahawk
Elementary School was built,
the enrollment at LRES was
decreased by more than 200
students and again in 1975
when the city of Lynchburg
annexed a portion of the
attendance area resulting in
additional loss of
approximately 100 students.
In the fall of 1976, Students
from New London Academy
were transferred to LRES to
compensate for the loss of
students who were
transferred to Tomahawk
Elementary School and
Lynchburg City Schools.
In 1981 Mr. Lee Lewis became
principal. During 1985-1986
asbestos materials were
removed from the school in
compliance with government
health regulations. Ceilings in
the original sections of the
building including the
cafetorium, library, and the
administrative suite were
replaced and the interior and
exterior of the building
refurbished. Each section was
vacated for safety purposes
during the removal process.
Grades four and five were
temporarily housed at Brookville
Middle School during that school
year. An administrative assistant
was assigned full time, and grades
four and five operated as an
elementary school with middle
school surroundings.
The principal served grades
kindergarten through three at
Leesville Road Elementary and
grades four and five at the middle
school complex.
Under Mr. Lewis’ leadership,
programs for the gifted, computer
literacy, computer labs, remedial
reading, and special education were
expanded or added. He was also
responsible for implementing the
school’s pre-kindergarten program.
Kindergarten was extended from a
half-day to a full day during the
1983-1984 school year. The
student enrollment then was
approximately five hundred
seventy.
In the summer of 1986, The
Campbell County School Board
implemented plans to alleviate
overcrowded conditions at several
elementary schools. The
elementary attendance areas were
changed to coincide with high
school attendance areas and
reorganize patterns. In the transfer
process, LRES received one hundred
students from Yellow Branch
Elementary School and in turn,
transferred one hundred students
to Tomahawk Elementary School.
Grade five was permanently
relocated to Brookville Middle
School and grade four was returned
to LRES, which at that time served
four hundred seventy-five students.
Several years ago, the Campbell
County School Board and the
Campbell County Board of
Supervisors committed the
county to fund a major
construction program at LRES.
Community and staff input into
this project was facilitated by Mr.
Leon Brandt and Mrs. Boolie
Martin of the school board, and
Mr. Leroy Helferstay and Mr.
Jimmy Mays of the board of
supervisors. Their ideas were
transformed into the “new”
Leesville Road Elementary School
by Mr. Craig Brewer, Director of
New Construction.
The project was probably one of
the most difficult school
construction jobs ever attempted
in the state. A campus-style
facility was placed under one
roof, necessitating continuous
movement of students and staff
throughout the year and a half of
construction. During this
process, all persons involved
were extremely patient and
cooperative.
Finally by mid-December 1998,
Leesville Road Elementary School
was ready for its dedication to
another forty years of serving our
youth. After the construction
was completed, grade five was
returned to LRES. Although the
“new” school is almost twice as
large as the old one, the warmth
and cohesiveness of its staff and
community have not changed.
The school has been and will
remain one where children come
first.
Page 3
Chronicle
My Family and Education in Campbell County
Submitted by Nina Calohan Thomas
My family as with many in the
County has had close ties with
schools and the educational
system of Campbell County for
many years. My grandfather,
James Alfred Arthur, and my great
grandfather, John Pleasant Arthur,
provided land for schools in the
County. Grandfather James gave
land for a Black school on Clarks
Road and Great Grandfather John
Pleasant provided land for a White
school on Blackwater Road. Both
school properties bordered their
respective farms. Grandmother
Arthur (Marcella Morris) taught
school, probably at Castle Craig,
and saved money to make a down
payment on their farm when she
and James married.
My Mother, Marion Arthur, and
father, William Earl Calohan,
started school at Yellow Branch, a
one room multi-grade elementary
school. It was there that they first
“fell in love”. Later my Mom
taught at that one room school.
She drove a horse to school, built a
fire in the stove and taught grades
1-7. She said that Mae Isaacs
could organize all the students for
any activity and Stratton Walker
could work any math problem.
She had many other talented
students but these are the ones I
remember. Obviously Mom had
learned to allow students to
pursue and excel in their potential
areas of strength. She utilized her
teaching skills and talents in
raising her children who all
attended Campbell County
schools at Rustburg and graduated
from college.
My Dad graduated from Rustburg
High School, served in the Armed
Forces during World War I and
then attended Virginia
Commercial College in Lynchburg.
He became very ill with the Flu
and during his lengthy recovery
made the decision to pursue a
career in farming instead of in an
office. He grew his 75 acres given
him by his father into over 400
acres and became recognized in
the County as a very successful
farmer. He served the
educational system as Chairman
of the County Electoral Board who
appointed County School Board
members.
My sister Jane started college as a
Pre-Med student at Madison, the
college our Mom had attended.
After her second year, Mr. John
Frey, Superintendent of Schools,
convinced her to take a year and
teach 5th Grade at Gladys
Elementary School.
This year changed her career. She
loved teaching and spent her life
teaching children and teachers.
Jane served as the first
principal at Yellow Branch
Elementary School and later as
Elementary Supervisor in the
County. At her death her
former teachers dedicated her
portrait to be placed at Yellow
Branch and held a Reception in
her memory. She also taught
many area teachers through
the University of Virginia
Extension classes. She too
understood the importance of
recognizing the strengths of
each student as a means to
build on their needs.
Other family members taught
and even I taught math at
Rustburg High School for
several years. I taught the year
schools were integrated in
Campbell County and found
that young people of all creeds
and colors were pretty much
the same as they were when I
was in school – if they were
treated with respect, they
treated you with respect.
Campbell County schools were
a good example of a smooth
transition into today’s schools.
We should be proud of our
heritage and how it has
prepared us to live peacefully in
today’s world.
Page 4
Chronicle
Leesville Road
Elementary School is
the first in a series of
four schools in the
Timberlake District to
be highlighted in
upcoming issues of the
Chronicle. The other
schools are:
.

Tomahawk Elementary
Leesville Road Elementary School as it appears today
Brookville Middle
PK, K-5 Grade Levels –approximately 680 Students
Principal: Katherine B. Bowles
Brookville High School
25 Lewis Way Lynchburg, VA 24502
(434) 239-0303 FAX 239-0355
(The road directly in front of the school building was renamed “Lewis Way” on June 16, 2000, in gratitude of
Mr. Lewis’ service)
The school has been served by seven principals: Mr. Andrew Foley (1960-1964), Mr.
Robert E. Hicks, Jr. (1964-1967), Mr. Hugh Pendleton (1967-1969), Mr. Alvin J. Ballard,
Jr. (1969-1981), Mr. J.R. Lee Lewis (1981-2000), Mr. Bruce Abbott (2000-2007), and
Mrs. Katherine B. Bowles (2007-present).
Source: Leesville Road Elementary School – Submitted by Phyllis Wood Coleman, member, Campbell
County Historical Society
CCHS to Publish a County Pictorial History
The Campbell County
Historical Society is working
with Arcadia Press on a
pictorial history of the county.
Expected to be published by
late summer of 2012, this
“labor of love” calls for old
original photos (or
professionally reproduced) of
sights from the past. Bridges,
roads, stores, post offices, rail
road depots, businesses,
schools and churches as they
looked way back when, and
gatherings of people all are
needed for the book. Old
postcards, high-quality vintage
line art (such as ads or
billheads), and high-quality
prints/originals on paper larger
than 3 x 3 inches and smaller than
17 X 11.5 inches are all
acceptable for use. We want to
use as many original photos as
possible and will give credit to the
source. We can scan your
pictures without harming them, so
please let us hear from you. (Not
acceptable by the publisher are
pictures from the internet, from
newspapers, pictures of pictures,
digitally retouched photos,
negatives or slides, photocopies,
images still in scrapbooks, and
those made at Kodak kiosks.) In
order that this publication will
reflect the entire county, we are
asking for help from all of our
readers. Contact Robert
Merryman at 434 821-1681 or
Mary Gough at 434 846-8975 if
you can help with this project by
allowing us to use your old
photographs or by sharing stories
of your area of the county.
Want to know more about Coles Ferry
conducted by Staunton River Tours go to:
http://www.oldhalifax.com/county/Staunto
nColesFerry.htm
Want to know about Green Hill Plantation
go to:
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/m
aai/enslavement/text3/plantationgreenhill.
pdf
Page 5
Chronicle
Campbell County Historical Society Calendar of Events
C A M P BE L L C OU N TY
H IS T O R I C A L
S O C IE T Y
P. O. Box 595
Rustburg VA. 24588
Phone:
(434)332-9618
E-Mail:
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
http://www.myvirginiaheri
tage.com/cchs_home.htm
The monthly meeting of the Campbell Guards Camp 2117 Sons of Confederate
Veterans will meet the 1st Tuesday of every month at the Historic Courthouse in
Rustburg at 7 pm, except in October when we meet at AVOCA. For more
information call 434-821-4114.
CCHS Membership Meeting is on October 24, 2010 at 2:00 P.M. The meeting
will be a tour of Historic Collins Ferry Plantation. Members who want to car pool
will meet at the Court House Square at 1:15 p.m. Bring something to drink and
crackers. Chili will be available from the Staunton River Historical Society at the
Plantation and Campbell County Historical Society will furnish drinks, slaw and
crackers. Bring a chair and card table if possible.
Courthouse Museum will be open on October 2, November 6, and December 4,
2010 from 9:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M.
Halloween at the Courthouse will be on October 28, 2010
Christmas at the Courthouse will be on December 3, 2010
Cemetery News
…
As some of you know, it was decided to convert the cemetery information into a database, in order to be able to access
st
the information more efficiently. Hopefully, the database will be complete by the 1 of the year. In the future, we plan to
sell CDs rather than books.
We are also aware that there are errors in the existing data. Therefore, we would like to re-survey the cemeteries. About
50 church cemeteries have been re-done so far. If you would like to help with this, contact Anita Jordan (Cemetery
Committee Chairman).
If you have surveyed any cemeteries & the information has not been turned in, PLEASE do so as soon as possible.
We would like to have this information included in the first CD offered for sale.
Contact:
Anita Jordan:
(434) 332-7185
1429 New Chapel Rd.
Rustburg, VA 24588
[email protected]
Dixon Family Cemetery 2008
Page 6
Chronicle
Map and directions to Collins Ferry Plantation
CAMPBELL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P.O. BOX 595
RUSTBURG, VA 24588