African American Schools in Lewis County, KY

In 1885, there was one colored school in Vanceburg, KY, the school was held in a church [see NKAA entry African American Schools, 1886]. At times, there were two colored schools, one in each of the colored districts, though the County Superintendent was not always able to verify that the schools were in session, and he wrote that the majority of the colored students did not go to school on a regular basis [source: Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1885-1887, p.128 and pp.193-194]. By 1895, there were two schools with an average attendance of 19 students 1895-96, and an average of 11 students 1896-97 [source: Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1895-1897, pp.513-516]. There was one teacher at each school. The average attendance was about the same for the next several years. The average salaries for the teachers were $33.66 from 1909-10, and $33.08 from 1910-1911 [source: Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1909-11, p.49 and p.151]. By 1925, there was one colored school in Lewis County [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1925-1926, p.67]. The Lewis County Schools started to integrate during the 1959-60 school term, according to the Kentucky Public School Directory, p.799, and Indian School was the first to be named as integrated in the 1961-62 directory, p.874.

• Colored Schools (2)