Ribbon cut on Cape Charles Impact Center

The ribbon was officially cut on Monday for the new Cape Charles Impact Center, a name that now graces the building formerly known as the Cape Charles Rosenwald School and later Cape Charles Elementary School.

Built in 1929 through local efforts in partnership with an initiative led by Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, the school educated black students in lower Northampton County for nearly 40 years. Construction of the school cost $16,362 between 1928 and 1929. Funding for the Cape Charles school included $1,000 from the Rosenwald Fund, $2,000 from the Negro School League, $2,457 from the Town of Cape Charles, and a $10,905 loan from the Virginia Literary Fund.

Remarks were offered by Diane Davis, an alumna of the school, who shared a brief history of the building and stories of her time as a student; Board Chair Tevya Griffin, who discussed the project that was nearly 15 years in the making; and Executive Director William Weeks, who outlined future plans for the facility. The keynote address was delivered by Eastern Shore Community College President Dr. Daryl Minus.

Several alumni and former faculty members were on hand for the ceremony, including Johnny Nottingham, a nephew of Mary Nottingham Smith and a former teacher at the school.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony and program, an open house was held at the newly renovated facility.