African American Schools in Floyd County, KY
The first school for African Americans in Floyd County was taught in a church, though the year is not given in Chalmer H. Frazier's thesis. There would later be a colored grade school in Wheelwright. There were 3 colored elementary schools in Floyd County in 1925, with one teacher at each school [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1925-1926, p.67]. The following year, there were 4 colored schools and 4 teachers [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1926-1927, p.81]. The Palmer-Dunbar Colored High School, in Wheelwright, was organized in 1936; the school was named in part for Palmer Hall, the school superintendent. By 1939, the high school offered four years of study. W. T. Gilbert was principal, and there were three teachers, one of whom was Mrs. Mannie N. Wilson. There were 41 students in the high school [source: The History of Education of Floyd County, Kentucky (thesis), by Chalmer Haynes Frazier]. In 1940, there were 5 Negro teachers in Wheelwright according to the U.S. Federal Census: Gera Kaywood, Lillie Beele Daw, Gladys Edwards, Sarah Moran, and Mary A. Reed. In 1956, two schools in Floyd County were listed as "white & integrated," Betsy Lane and Wheelwright [source: Kentucky Public School Directory, 1956-57, pp.427-428].
- Church School
- Colored Schools (4)
- Wheelwright School
- Palmer-Dunbar School
