Kerr’s Run Colored School – Pomeroy, Ohio - Atlas Obscura
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Kerr’s Run Colored School

Pomeroy, Ohio

This schoolhouse for Black American children is one of the oldest remaining in southeastern Ohio. 

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The back of the school and playground. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The back of the school and playground. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The entrance to school, covered in vines. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
Coal was loaded through this hatch for the furnace. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The furnace room is still dry. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
Some of the original windows are still intact. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The main entrance to the Kerr’s Run School. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
An old church stands beside the school. The rest of the neighborhood has been demolished. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
A memorial plaque was installed near the school this year. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
Taken by Gremm Bando (May 2024) TheBandoCouple (Atlas Obscura User)
The main classroom looking toward the entrance. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
This old piano still works! rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
A bookcase still sits in a corner of the main classroom. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
This school had indoor plumbing, which was an innovation in the early 1900s. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
The heating system ductwork was made out of brick! rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
Looking into the main classroom from the entrance. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
A Singer sewing machine sits in the attic. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
Another classroom. This school had two larger rooms and two smaller ones for students. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
A January, 1921 newspaper article from the Democrat about improvements in Pomeroy schools, including Kerr’s Run school. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)
Taken by Gremm Bando (May 2024) TheBandoCouple (Atlas Obscura User)
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Known only to the locals, this forgotten schoolhouse still stands in the oldest part of Pomeroy, Ohio. It is now boarded up and overgrown with brush. In its earlier days, it provided Black American children with a quality education, producing such notable figures as James Edwin Campbell, poet and first president of West Virginia State University, and James McHenry Jones, renowned educator and third president of West Virginia State University. It operated from the late 1880s to the early 1900s.

In 2007, to commemorate the bicentennial of Meigs County, a historical marker was added to the Kerr’s Run Colored School site. The sign briefly documents the history and legacy of the school.

Know Before You Go

This venue can be reached by Ohio State Route 33 East from Athens, Ohio. Approximately 20 miles from Athens is an interchange and Route 833 begins here. Drive straight through the interchange and follow Route 833 to the Ohio River. At the stoplight is an intersection with State Route 124. Turn left and travel 200 feet and make a hard left onto a dead end lane. It is not marked with a street sign. The Kerr’s Run School is right beside the old church. The property is not posted and visitors come and go as they please. Do not attempt to enter the building as it is in an unsafe condition.

african-american schools black history abandoned
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Published
April 19, 2019
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Nearby
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