This school, originally Cheltenham Colored School or Colored School No. 10, opened in 1877 and closed in 1908. It served the African American children who lived in the Hill area of St. Louis. From 1879 until at least 1881, the school was located on Davis Street near Manchester Road, in an area known as Cheltenham. During the 1890s it moved to Northrup Avenue. In 1892, eighty-nine students attended the school. The school was renamed in 1890 for George Boyer Vashon (1824-78), a black scholar and jurist. His son, John B. Vashon (1859-1924), served as one of the principals of the school.
The Vashon Elementary School was at what is now 5324-26 Northrup Ave. If one were going up (south) on Macklind and began to go up the street hill, the first street on the right is Northrup. The school was located on that street.
Is was commonly called: COLORED SCHOOL NO. 10. African American children who lived anywhere in the region of Cheltenham were not allowed to go to school at either the Cheltenham School nor Gratiot. Also I have no record of any African American student at St. James until very recent years.
In the book DISCOVERING AFRICAN AMERICAN ST. LOUIS, edited by John A. Wright (St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society, 2002), we read:
This school, originally Cheltenham Colored School or Colored School No. 10, opened in 1877 and closed in 1908. It served the African American children who lived in the Hill area of St. Louis. From 1879 until at least 1881, the school was located on Davis Street near Manchester Road, in an area known as Cheltenham. During the 1890s it moved to Northrup Avenue. In 1892, eighty-nine students attended the school. The school was renamed in 1890 for George Boyer Vashon (1824-78), a black scholar and jurist. His son, John B. Vashon (1859-1924), served as one of the principals of the school.
By Norm Parish
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Tuesday, Jul. 25 2006
As a St. Louis educator, Calvin Riley Jr. has always considered scholars George and John Vashon prominent role models for African-American teachers.
In fact, one of the city's oldest historically black schools - Vashon High School - is named for them.
In May, Riley became the owner of a large part of the Vashon family history. He obtained more than 200 items that belonged to the family dating to the 1840s.
The materials were in a St. Louis house that once belonged to Vashon descendants.
Some Missouri Historical Society historians said the items - including letters, books, pictures, diaries and other documents - make up what may be one of the most complete collections ever discovered of a high-profile African-American family in St. Louis.
"In terms of African-American history, it is a gold mine," said Jacqueline K. Dace, curator of African-American collections at the Missouri History Museum.
"To have something this complete is rare."
Currently, Riley is having the items reviewed by an expert who is on a list of appraisers he got from the museum.
Riley, also a collector of black artifacts, plans to sell the Vashon materials.
"As an educator, I have responsibility to make sure that this collection stays together and is displayed to the public," said Riley, 56, who has either taught or served as an administrator for 22 years. The Vashons "were role models in education."
Dace would not say whether the museum would buy the items but she said she is interested in keeping the collection in St. Louis.
Among the items is a letter from Boston abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison to George B. Vashon, who lived from 1824 to 1878. Vashon, the first African-American graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, also was the first black lawyer in New York state and an educator who fought against slavery.
In the 1847 letter, Garrison recounts an anti-slavery meeting in which Garrison was beaten and dragged through Boston streets by a mob and was saved when police arrested him. The letter also discusses Garrison's plans to visit Vashon, who then lived in Pittsburgh. Garrison planned to bring activist Frederick Douglass along.
Vashon's widow, Susan Paul Smith Vashon, moved to St. Louis in 1882. In later years, several Vashon descendants were involved in St. Louis politics, civic organizations and education.
Vashon's son John was principal of the former Cheltenham Elementary School, which later became Vashon High School. He also helped establish the former YMCA for Colored Men in 1887. The facility was demolished in 1960.
"They were great educators who should be remembered," said Riley, who was curriculum coach at Stevens Middle School in St. Louis. "I had no idea that would get all this material on the family."
Riley said he purchased the collection from Marcus Howard, a 46-year-old antiques collector. Howard got the collection at an estate sale at a former Vashon family house in the 4400 block of West Belle Place. He said he really didn't know how important the materials were.
But Howard learned more about the collection after talking to Riley. After selling the materials to Riley, Howard said he kept four letters from Garrison to Vashon. He said he plans to sell three of the letters.
However, Howard and Riley said they feared many other Vashon materials were destroyed. Howard found many of the materials in a desk that he purchased at the home. Other materials also were in the basement and third floor of the home, he said.
"When I first got materials many of the items had mildew on it," Riley said. "I had to use baking soda to get rid of the odor. If we hadn't got these items, an important documented part of African-American history would have been lost forever."
George Boyer Vashon
Tuesday, Jul. 25 2006
Born: 1824, Pennsylvania
1844: Becomes the first African-American to graduate from Oberlin College in Ohio.
1847: Becomes the first African-American to be admitted to the New York State Bar.
1849-1870s: Receives a master's degree from Oberlin and goes on to become an educator, abolitionist and the District of Columbia's first African-American lawyer. He also practices law in Syracuse, N.Y., and serves as dean of Howard University Law School. He serves as president of Avery College in Pittsburgh and as a solicitor at the Freedmen's Bureau in Washington after the Civil War.
1878: Dies in a yellow fever epidemic after moving to Mississippi to be an educator at Alcorn State University.
Sources: West Virginia University, Vashon High School and Calvin Riley Jr.
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