Mary N. Smith added to Virginia Landmarks Register

A historic school on the Eastern Shore is receiving statewide recognition.

Mary N. Smith High School in Accomack County has been added to the Virginia Landmarks Register. Built in 1953, the school was created during Virginia’s Equalization Era, when state leaders sought to provide separate but supposedly equal educational facilities for Black students while resisting school integration.

Located just outside the town of Accomac, the school was named for Mary Nottingham Smith, a respected educator who dedicated her career to advancing educational opportunities for African American children on the Eastern Shore.

The school remained segregated until integration efforts led to its conversion into a middle school in 1971. Today, the building serves the community as the Mary Nottingham Smith Cultural Enrichment Center.

The property has been nominated under Virginia’s African American Schools Multiple Property Document, which recognizes schools that played important roles in the history of Black education across the Commonwealth.