WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — The City of Winston-Salem is inviting residents to witness the unveiling of a new historic marker for Brown Elementary School.
According to a news release from the city, the school was originally named the Woodland Avenue School and served the African-American community from the early 1900s until 1977. In 1914, Robert Washington Brown was named principal, a role he held for 30 years.
When Broen died in 1941, the school was renamed Robert Washington Brown Elementary School to honor his dedication to educating children.
After the school closed in 1977, it became the property of Shiloh Baptist Church and was used primarily as a daycare.
In December 2016, after it had recently been sold to the Winston-Salem Housing Authority, the building caught fire and was destroyed.
Currently, Brown School Lofts are located where the school once stood.
The marker will read the following:
Woodland Avenue Elementary School for African American students opened here in 1910. A two-story brick building replaced the wooden one in 1914. Woodland Avenue was renamed Brown Elementary School in 1941 to honor longtime principal Robert Washington Brown. Professor Brown was an educator, civic and religious leader, and a cofounder of Winston Mutual Life Insurance Co. Brown was integrated in August 1971 when students were first bused between Winston-Salem and Clemmons/Lewisville. Brown closed in 1984. Shiloh Baptist Church and St. Peter’s Church bought the school and operated a daycare center on the site. After a major fire in 2016, the school was demolished.
City of Winston-Salem
The unveiling will be on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 11 a.m. at 1125 Highland Avenue.
