Huguenot High School
Encyclopedia
Huguenot High School, part of the Richmond Public Schools
system, is a high school
located in Richmond
, Virginia
, with grades 9-12.
Huguenot High School was named in honor of the Huguenot
s, French Protestants who emigrated to the English Virginia Colony beginning in the early 18th century.
was named for the couple.
After Mr. Burroughs died, the orphanage was taken over by others, and became known as the Bethany Home. It was supported by the community, notably including Bon Air Presbyterian Church, until it closed during the 1940s. Part of the facility was used for the elderly and disabled, and the some of the land north of modern Forest Hill Avenue still in such use at the beginning of the 21st century.
in the Bon Air
area and opened on September 6, 1960. About the same time, Meadowbrook High School, also located close to the border with Richmond, was built to a similar plan.
The first principal of the new Huguenot High, serving until 1968, was George H. Reid, a longtime principal of Manchester High School for whom G. H. Reid Elementary School was named by Chesterfield County
. A fourteen classroom addition was completed around 1964. G. H. Reid retired at the end of the 1968-69 school year, the last before the city annexed the land occupied by the school the following January 1.
program in the fall of 1971. With its property actually adjoining the border with Chesterfield County in the Bon Air
area, some of the students assigned to Huguenot High School had very long school bus
rides from the East End
of the city. Other students who lived close to Huguenot were assigned as far away as the former John F. Kennedy High School, located past the opposite side of Richmond's city limits in the edge of Henrico County. The river's location running lengthwise through the center of the city and the limited number of bridges in 1971 added to the transportation riding times and mileage. Within a year, white flight
became evident in residential housing patterns, especially in the annexed area, where the busing program was cited as a major objection by those leaving the city. Some minority families also objected to the transportation hardships, as well as loss of traditional family participation at neighborhood schools, notably including Richmond high schools named for Maggie L. Walker
, Samuel C. Armstrong
, and John Marshall
which had been attended by generations of some families.
In 1979, Huguenot High School became the Huguenot building within the Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School. Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe was created by Richmond Public Schools because of declining enrollment and the continued loss of revenue for education. It resulted in combining Thomas Jefferson, Huguenot, and George Wythe into one unique school in three widely-separated facilities. This change was implemented to reduce expenses and to create a learning environment which would meet the needs of all students. The plan was difficult to administer and suffered from transportation logistics.
In August, 1986, the Huguenot building was returned to the status of Huguenot High School and has operated as a separate school again since then. Richmond Public Schools added magnet school
programs and other projects, and was released by the court-ordered busing program in the early 1990s.
Richmond Public Schools
This school division contains public schools serving the independent city of Richmond, Virginia. It is occasionally described locally as Richmond City Public Schools to emphasize its connection to the independent city rather than the Richmond-Petersburg region at large or the rural Richmond County...
system, is a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, with grades 9-12.
Huguenot High School was named in honor of the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s, French Protestants who emigrated to the English Virginia Colony beginning in the early 18th century.
Land for the benefit of children
Huguenot High School and nearby Fred D. Thompson Middle School were built on land which was earlier known as "The Old Burton Place", a 165 acre (0.6677319 km²) tract with an antebellum farmhouse. The land, described by a historian as poor for farming due to the many rocks on the site, was purchased by J.R.F. and Lucy Burroughs, a childless couple. In 1889, they opened an orphanage originally called "The Home for Friendless Children". The devout couple never solicited for funds, but there are tales of the support they received anyway. When Mr. Burroughs died in 1915, he was buried at a site now surrounded by neighboring apartments. There, his tombstone reads "Faithful unto Death". Burroughs Street in nearby Bon AirBon Air, Virginia
Bon Air is a census-designated place in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,366 at the 2010 census. The community is considered a suburb of the independent city of Richmond in the Richmond-Petersburg region, and shares a post office with Richmond...
was named for the couple.
After Mr. Burroughs died, the orphanage was taken over by others, and became known as the Bethany Home. It was supported by the community, notably including Bon Air Presbyterian Church, until it closed during the 1940s. Part of the facility was used for the elderly and disabled, and the some of the land north of modern Forest Hill Avenue still in such use at the beginning of the 21st century.
1960-1970: Chesterfield County
Huguenot High School was built by Chesterfield County Public SchoolsChesterfield County Public Schools
Chesterfield County Public Schools is the school system of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Almost 59,000 students are enrolled in 62 Chesterfield public schools...
in the Bon Air
Bon Air, Virginia
Bon Air is a census-designated place in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,366 at the 2010 census. The community is considered a suburb of the independent city of Richmond in the Richmond-Petersburg region, and shares a post office with Richmond...
area and opened on September 6, 1960. About the same time, Meadowbrook High School, also located close to the border with Richmond, was built to a similar plan.
The first principal of the new Huguenot High, serving until 1968, was George H. Reid, a longtime principal of Manchester High School for whom G. H. Reid Elementary School was named by Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
. A fourteen classroom addition was completed around 1964. G. H. Reid retired at the end of the 1968-69 school year, the last before the city annexed the land occupied by the school the following January 1.
1970 Richmond-Chesterfield Annexation
Huguenot High School was among approximately a dozen schools, support buildings, and future school sites conveyed to the City of Richmond along with 23 square miles (59.6 km²) of territory as the result of a compromise negotiated during the annexation suit by the City of Richmond against Chesterfield County in the late 1960s. The annexation became effective January 1, 1970.As part of Richmond Public Schools
The city school system started operating Huguenot High School in the summer of 1970. At almost the same time as the annexed area was added to the city, Richmond Public Schools began a court-ordered desegregation busingDesegregation busing
Desegregation busing in the United States is the practice of assigning and transporting students to schools in such a manner as to redress prior racial segregation of schools, or to overcome the effects of residential segregation on local school demographics.In 1954, the U.S...
program in the fall of 1971. With its property actually adjoining the border with Chesterfield County in the Bon Air
Bon Air, Virginia
Bon Air is a census-designated place in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,366 at the 2010 census. The community is considered a suburb of the independent city of Richmond in the Richmond-Petersburg region, and shares a post office with Richmond...
area, some of the students assigned to Huguenot High School had very long school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
rides from the East End
East End (Richmond, Virginia)
The East End of Richmond, Virginia is the quadrant of the City of Richmond, Virginia, and more loosely the Richmond metropolitan area, east of the downtown.-Geographic boundaries:...
of the city. Other students who lived close to Huguenot were assigned as far away as the former John F. Kennedy High School, located past the opposite side of Richmond's city limits in the edge of Henrico County. The river's location running lengthwise through the center of the city and the limited number of bridges in 1971 added to the transportation riding times and mileage. Within a year, white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
became evident in residential housing patterns, especially in the annexed area, where the busing program was cited as a major objection by those leaving the city. Some minority families also objected to the transportation hardships, as well as loss of traditional family participation at neighborhood schools, notably including Richmond high schools named for Maggie L. Walker
Maggie L. Walker
Maggie Lena Walker was an African American teacher and businesswoman. Walker was the first African American female bank president and the first woman to charter a bank in the United States. As a leader, she achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for...
, Samuel C. Armstrong
Samuel C. Armstrong
Samuel Chapman Armstrong was an American educator and a commissioned officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War...
, and John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
which had been attended by generations of some families.
In 1979, Huguenot High School became the Huguenot building within the Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School. Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe was created by Richmond Public Schools because of declining enrollment and the continued loss of revenue for education. It resulted in combining Thomas Jefferson, Huguenot, and George Wythe into one unique school in three widely-separated facilities. This change was implemented to reduce expenses and to create a learning environment which would meet the needs of all students. The plan was difficult to administer and suffered from transportation logistics.
In August, 1986, the Huguenot building was returned to the status of Huguenot High School and has operated as a separate school again since then. Richmond Public Schools added magnet school
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
programs and other projects, and was released by the court-ordered busing program in the early 1990s.