Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 03/20/1979
NRHP Listing Date 06/27/1979
NRHP Reference Number 79003032
The Saul Building, Principal’s Residence, and Memorial Chapel at Saint Paul’s College, in the Brunswick County seat of Lawrenceville, embody the growth of this pioneering, historically African American institution, from a one-room parochial school to a liberal arts college. Saint Paul’s was established in 1883 by an Episcopal deacon, the Rev. James Solomon Russell (1857-1935), who was born a slave. Russell trained at Petersburg’s Bishop Payne Divinity School. Assigned to Lawrenceville, Russell found a community where “race prejudice seemed rampant and public opinion indifferent if not actually hostile.” By February 1883 a chapel was built, and a parochial school soon was organized. A small school building was later built with funds from the Rev. James Saul of Philadelphia. In 1888 St. Paul’s Normal and Industrial School was founded. The Queen Anne-style Principal’s Residence, was built in 1900. The Memorial Chapel, was completed in 1904. In 1957 the name was officially changed to Saint Paul’s College. The school was closed in 2013.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 1, 2021
