AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDING REVIVAL
John S. Dawson High School
West Feliciana Parish
John S. Dawson High School is located about three and a half miles northwest of the town of St. Francisville, Louisiana. The school is named for John Sterling Dawson, a prolific educator who was born one decade after slavery ended. He arrived in West Feliciana Parish at the age of 19, graduated from Natchez College, and received a bachelor’s degree from Leland College in Baton Rouge. Dawson began teaching Black students in West Feliciana Parish in 1890. He retired in 1947 after more than 58 years in education, and died in 1951. After Dawson’s passing, three prominent White families gave West Feliciana Parish 13 acres to build a new, much larger school for African American students called John S. Dawson High School. This school was in operation from 1951 to 1969 and had a high school wing, an elementary wing (opened in 1962), and industrial arts, home economics, and agriculture buildings. Dawson’s two sons, John Dawson Jr. and Thomas Dawson, each served as principals when the high school was in operation. Dawson High School closed with integration in 1969 and has remained vacant ever since. Dawson High School was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 15, 2015.
John S. Dawson High School
OPENED: 1951
CLOSED: 1969
OTHER NAMES OF SCHOOL: N/A
OTHER USES/CURRENT USE: Vacant
SQUARE FOOTAGE: 39,000 sf
PROPERTY OWNER: West Feliciana Parish School Board
