On Saturday, September 24 at 1:00 PM a historical marker will be dedicated to the George W. Carver High School, now known as Crittenden Middle School. The marker will be located at 6158 Jefferson Avenue in Newport News.

According to the Department of Historical Resources, George W. Carver High School in Newport News opened in 1949 as a consolidated African American school for grades 1-11, replacing “inadequate, overcrowded facilities in the 1930s and 1940s.” According to the marker, “Homer L. Hines, the school’s only principal, inspired students to high achievement.” Carver closed in 1971.

The Virginia highway marker program, which began in 1927 with installation of the first historical markers along U.S. Rte. 1, is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,500 official state markers, most of which are maintained by Virginia Department of Transportation, except in those localities outside of VDOT’s authority.

Sponsored by the Carver High School Alumni Association, the full text of the marker reads:
George W. Carver High School African American residents of Warwick County campaigned for new public schools to replace inadequate, overcrowded facilities in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1949 the county opened Carver High School, constructed here at a cost of more than $500,000. The 20-classroom consolidated school served students in grades 1-11, with grade 12 added in 1955. In July 1958 Carver was incorporated into the Newport News school system. Homer L. Hines, the school’s only principal, inspired students to high achievement. Carver High School closed in 1971 as part of the city’s desegregation plan, and the building became an intermediate school.