Saint Emma Military Academy (also known as St. Emma Industrial and Agricultural Institute), was a school for African and Native American boys, constructed in 1895. Its sister school was St. Francis de Sales High School, for African and Native American girls, constructed in 1899. These were two Roman Catholic institutions built on the historic Belmead plantation. Also known as Belmead-on-the-James, it was located near Powhatan County Virginia, designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis for Philip St. George Cocke and constructed about 1845. (Location: NW of JCT of Rtes. 663 & 600 near Powhatan,Va. Coordinates: 37 ° 37" 24" N 77 ° 57' 45"W).
These schools were started and sustained by the generous spirit of three Philadelphia philanthropist; Louise Drexeel Morrell (with her husband Edward V. Morrell) and sister, Saint Katharine Drexel. Louise and Katharine were the daughters of Francis Anthony Drexel, a very wealthy banker and the namesake of Drexel University. Upon his death, the daughters used their inheritance to help the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised youth of this country. Katharine Drexel opened over sixty schools and convents all over the United States. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans in 1925, the only historically Black and Catholic university in the U.S. She was canonized a saint by Pope John 11, in a ceremony at Vatican City on Oct 1, 2000, (She is one of only two American born saints).
The St. Emma campus consisted of over forty buildings and in its heyday was like a little town needing nothing from the outside but salt and sugar. During the slavery days the property could support almost two hundred people, so the founders reasoned that it could easily supply the needs of the cadet corps and St. Francis, and still have enough produce to sell to the community. Although the first construction was done by enslaved people, many other buildings such as the chapel and the main dormitory were built by cadets with directions from their shop instructors. The building materials, the clay, the stone and lumber all came from the property itself. St. Emma Military Academy was the Nation's only Black military academy in continuous operation from 1895 to 1972. It existed for over seventy-seven years.
Unfortunately, both schools were closed by 1972 due to declining enrollment and the advancement of integration among other things. During its time over 15,000 students graduated from these schools, and their stories and that of their founders are very important and intriguing parts of American history which should never be forgotten.
References
edit1. Books and Academic Research
Anderson, James D."The Education of Blacks in the South",1860-1934.Chapel Hill:The University of North Carolina
Press, 1988
Ashmore, Harry S."The Negro and the Schools". Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press,1954.
Baily, James Henry A. A History of the Diocese of Richmond, the Formative Years. Richmond, Virginia: Chancery
Office,the Diocese of Richmond, 1956.
Couture, Richard T. Powhatan: A Bicentennial History. Richmond, Virginia: The Dietz Press, 1980
Davis, Cyprian, O.S.B. The History of Black Catholics in the United States. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co.
1990
Davis, John H. The Bouviers, Form Waterloo to the Kennedys and Beyond. pages 108-109
Duffy, Consuela Marie, S.B.S. Katharine Drexel a Biography. p. 200
Foner, Eric. Reconstruction, America's Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877.NewYork: Harper and Row, 1988.
Jackson, Giles B. & Davis, Daniel W. The Industrial History of the Negro Race of the United States. p 300 & 310
Kemp, Sandra Rose Morris. The Journey for Justice. Page 60-64
Kluger, Richard. Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle
for Equality. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.
Rottenberg, Dan. The Man who made Wall Street (Anthony J.Drexel and the Rise of Modern Finance) page 174.
Walker, Robert A. The Black Military Academy on the James River
Woodson, Carter G. The Negro in Our History. Washington, D.C.: Associated Publishers, 1931.
Moore, Ray. S.E.M.A. Saga at the Rock (St. Emma Military Academy)
2. Theses and Dissertations
Smith, Sister Marie Barat. "A History of St. Emma Military Academy and St. Francis de Sales High School".
Master Thesis, Catholic University of America. 1949
Stevens, Garland R. "A Comparative Study of the Accreditation of Virginia Public High Schools by the Virginia State
Board of Education and by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary schools." Master's Thesis,
The University of Virginia, 1947.
3. Newspapers and Periodicals
Belmeadian.(Rock Castle, Virginia) October 1949, November 1949. The Catholic Virginian. "New Trade School Dedicated at Rock Castle". December 1933. The Richmond News Leader. "School to Close, Cites Roll Drop". May 1, 1972. The Richmond Times Dispatch. July 11, 1948. Building Belmead; A Walking Tour, Guide and History of Belmead-on-the-James. University of Virginia, Community History Workshop 2010. The Sabre, Yearbook of St. Emma Military Academy 1965 Big Chief. Powhatan County Public School, Powhatan, Virginia 1965.
4. Unpublished Manuscripts and Interviews
Barry, Edward J. "History of St. Emma Military Academy". Unpublished pamphlet, 1926. Smither, William "Duke", "Gems' Along the James: The St. Emma Military Academy Campus". Speidell, Phyllis, A Haven Ahead of its Time: an American born saint transformed a Powhatan plantation into a pair of schools that educated 15,000 young African American and American Indian students from 1895 to the early 70's. (Publication:Richmond Metropolitan, Oct. 2010 p78-81, 154-160.)
5. Archival Sources
Congregation of the Holy Ghost Archives. 6220 Bushrun Road, Battle Park, Pa. 15102. Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Archives. 1663 Bristol Pike, Bensalem, Pa. 19020.
6. Government Publications
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States Colonial Times to 1970. Bicentennial Edition, Part two. Washington: The U.S. Department of the Census 1975.
The evaluation of the success of St. Emma Military Academy and St. Francis de Sales High School I e3ducating African-American students is multifaceted, reflecting both significant achievements and limitations within the historical context they operated in.
This is a selected bibliography and does not encompass all sources used in the comprehensive study of St. Emma and St. Francis. The references represent a diverse range of materials, including academic research, government publications, personal interviews, and archival documents, offering a multifaceted view of the institutions's history and impact.