This page was originally created by LVHS in cooperation with the “Save Brookvale History Committee” (SBHC), an independent citizens’ group which worked to preserve and share history, stories, and memorabilia of Lancaster’s former segregated Black high school and its students. The Committee members were Pixie E. Curry (coordinator), Douglas Campbell, Hampton Campbell, Andrea Williamson Curtis, Toni Williamson Dorsey, Dennis Lee, Sr. Community liaisons were Lancaster Public Schools-Jessica Davis; Lancaster Virginia Historical Society-Karen Hart and Lex Forrester; Kilmarnock Museum-Carroll Lee Ashburn; and Lancaster County Board of Supervisors & Administration-Ernest Palin, Bill Lee, Don Gill, John Bateman. The SBHC accomplished holding a 2025 public May Day event and alumni celebration along with sponsoring a Virginia Historical Highway Marker for the Brookvale site, and has since disbanded. The former school building is owned by Lancaster County and County officials are undertaking thoughtful planning about the site’s future.
LVHS is proud to continue to host and grow this webpage as a lasting digital archive. LVHS thanks everyone who has provided research or materials, including the SBHC Committee members, LVHS staff and volunteers, the Kilmarnock Museum/Carroll Lee Ashburn, Brookvale alumni, and many others in the community.
For more information or to share materials, contact LVHS.
About Brookvale High School
Brookvale High School, located off Devil’s Bottom Road between Kilmarnock and Lancaster, existed as a segregated Black school from 1959 to 1969. It opened in January 1959 for students in grades 8-12, replacing the county’s first Black high school, A.T. Wright, that had been established in White Stone about 1910. In Fall 1962, Brookvale added an Elementary division and became a combined facility housing all grades 1-12.
Brookvale High School’s last graduating class was in Spring 1969, as forced integration was finally being implemented for the next school year. This came 15 years after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Black students in grades 9-12 were integrated into Lancaster High School (in Kilmarnock) for Fall 1969 and Brookvale High School was closed. The building became Mantua Intermediate School, then served as Lancaster Primary School from 1973 until it permanently closed in 2023. (Photo above from 1960 Brookvale yearbook).
HISTORICAL MARKER: Through the efforts and sponsorship of the Save Brookvale History Committee, a state Historical Highway Marker was approved by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. A dedication and unveiling event was held on October 4, 2025.
Yearbooks: Brookvale and Other Local Black Schools
These digital books were created from images made by Pixie E. Curry of original yearbooks loaned to SBHC by alumni, friends, and the Kilmarnock Museum. Thank you!
Brookvale High School (Lancaster County VA)
- 1960 Brookvale Yearbook and 1960 Senior Class Picture
- 1961 Brookvale Yearbook and 1961 Senior Class Picture
- 1962 Brookvale Yearbook and 1962 Senior Class Picture
- 1963 Brookvale Yearbook and 1963 Senior Class Picture
- 1964 Brookvale Senior Class Picture (no yearbook)
- 1965 Brookvale Yearbook and 1965 Senior Class Picture
- 1966 Brookvale Yearbook and 1966 Senior Class Picture
- 1967 Brookvale Yearbook and 1967 Senior Class Picture
- 1968 Brookvale Yearbook and 1968 Senior Class Picture
- 1969 Brookvale Yearbook and 1969 Senior Class Picture
A. T. Wright High School (Lancaster County VA)
- 1954 A.T. Wright Yearbook
- 1958 A.T. Wright Yearbook
- 1959 A.T. Wright Yearbook and 1959 Senior Class Picture
Central High School (Northumberland County VA)
- 1959 Central High Yearbook
- 1960 Central High Yearbook
- 1961 Central High Yearbook
- 1963 Central High Yearbook
- 1966 Central High Yearbook
Julius Rosenwald High School (Northumberland County VA)
1969 Brookvale Warriors State Championship Baseball Team
Additional Resources
Check back for more resources as this page grows…