Florence Graded School
Florence Graded School was named for Florence Bowser, a noted educator who was instrumental in having the school constructed. It was built in 1920 with state and local funds and a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund which had been created in 1922 to finance elementary schools for southern African Americans. Some 5,000 Rosenwald schools were built in 15 states, including 308 in Virginia; 9 were in Suffolk (then Nansemond County). Elements of the original frame building survive in the present brick structure. The adjoining Florence Bowser Elementary School was completed in 1963.
Marker is on Nansemond Parkway (Virginia Route 337) 1.3 miles west of Shoulders Hill Road (Virginia Route 626), on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
