Garnet High School, also known as Garnet Career Center and Garnet Adult Education Center, is a historic African-American high school in Charleston, West Virginia. The school was established when "twelve African-American students in Kanawha County passed an entrance examination for high school level course work."[2] It was named after Henry Highland Garnet, a former slave who became the United States' ambassador to Liberia.[2] It is a three-story, brick structure, constructed in 1928-29 from the plans of the prestigious Charleston architectural firm of Warne, Tucker, Silling and Hutchison, and dedicated December 2 to 4, 1929. The façade features a limestone-arched entrance containing two sets of double doors, transom light, and a limestone tympanum. Garnet was one of three high schools in the Kanawha Valley built for African-American students. It closed as a high school in 1956, following integration of the public schools,[2] but has been used as a public resource building since that time.[3]

Garnet High School
Garnet High School is located in West Virginia
Garnet High School
Garnet High School is located in the United States
Garnet High School
Location422 Dickinson St., Charleston, West Virginia
Coordinates38°21′4″N 81°37′48″W / 38.35111°N 81.63000°W / 38.35111; -81.63000
AreaThe Block
Built1928
ArchitectWarne, Tucker, Silling & Hutchison
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No.90001068 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 24, 1990

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[1]

Alumni

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Singer, musical performer and Dot Records recording artist Rita Moss graduated in 1936. At her convocation she played Mendelssohn's "War March of The Priests" on piano.[4][5]

Oscar Holmes (1916–2001) graduated from this school and became the first African-American Naval Aviator and air traffic controller.[6][7][8]

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Integration of Garnet High School, Charleston, West Virginia". The Carter Woodson Project. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  3. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form" (PDF). Garnet High School. State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. 2009-04-04.
  4. ^ The Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston, West Virginia, Sunday, May 17, 1936, p. 70
  5. ^ The Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston, West Virginia, Thursday, May 21, 1936, p. 31
  6. ^ Kraus, Terry. "Oscar Holmes: He Broke Three Color Barriers, but Few Knew" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration.
  7. ^ Schneller, Robert J. Jr. (January–February 1998). "Oscar Holmes: A Place in Naval Aviation" (PDF). Naval Aviation News. United States Navy.
  8. ^ Fikes, Robert (6 December 2015). "Oscar Wayman Holmes Jr. (1916–2001)". BlackPast.org.