From its founding in 1888 until closing its doors for the last time some 45 years later—long before schools in the South were desegregated—the Gloucester Agricultural and Industrial School provided a top-notch education for the county’s Black youth.

Dr. Wesley Wilson, executive director of the Woodville Rosenwald Foundation, provided an overview of the school, commonly called the Cappahosic Academy, during a talk last Thursday at Gloucester Library, Main Street Center. Wilson was the second guest speaker of the Gloucester Museum of History’s three-part lecture series, “Time Travelers: A Walk Through History.”

The Gloucester Agricultural and Industrial School was founded by William Weaver with the help of T.C. Walker in 1888. After a few years of the school dealing with financial hardships, it was purchased by the American Missionary Association, who would replace Weaver with the then assistant principal, William Gibbons Price.

Under Price, the school offered African American ...