Christiansburg Institute Heritage Tour
Venue: Christiansburg Institute, Christiansburg
Directions: Google Map Link
Date: Saturday, July 21, 2018
Time: 12:00 - 3:00 PM
Event Types: Music, Food, Miscellaneous, Speaking Engagements
Cost: Free

Description:
Christiansburg Institute presents a Christiansburg Institute Heritage Tour on Saturday, July 21, 2018.

Enjoy a tour of the historic Christiansburg Institute sites: the Edgar A. Long building, Old Hill School and Schaeffer Memorial Baptist Church. The event will also feature a community picnic with limited food on a first come, first serve basis, music, local art, kids crafts and activities, and the re-opening of the Christiansburg Institute Smokehouse Museum with a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

Admission is free and donations are welcome.

Christiansburg Institute began after the Civil War with a mission to educate freed slaves. The school was founded by Captain Charles S. Schaeffer, a Union soldier and Baptist minister from Philadelphia. Working for the Freedmen’s Bureau, Schaeffer came to Christiansburg in 1866 and started teaching twelve former slaves in a rented house. By 1869, the Hill School, as it was called, had grown to include over two hundred students. In the 1880s, Schaeffer turned over control of the school to a completely African American staff. He retired to focus on ministry before his death in 1899. During his time in Southwest Virginia, Schaeffer organized twenty-nine African American churches.

A new era for the Christiansburg Institute began in 1896 when Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, became adviser to CI. In 1909, Washington addressed almost 5,000 Christiansburg residents, both white and black. The Christiansburg Institute implemented a curriculum similar to those at Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes, continuing to grow throughout the early twentieth century. The Institute expanded to property at 140 Scattergood Drive, where the 1927 Edgar A. Long Building, named for the principal of the Institute from 1906-1924, still stands. During the years of segregation in Southwest Virginia, Christiansburg Institute served the educational needs of African American students from up to fifteen counties at a time. Christiansburg Institute closed in 1966 when local public schools integrated.

The Christiansburg Institute is located at 140 Scattergood Drive in Christiansburg, VA.

For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/408351476329256/ or https://www.facebook.com/christiansburginstitute or http://ci-2.org/.

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