AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDING REVIVAL
Paul Laurence Dunbar School
Avoyelles Parish
In 1949, a junior high school was constructed in Simmesport, educating students grades 1-9. P. A. Frazier, Jr. was hired as the first principal. When the first school year came to a close, Frazier convinced the superintendent and school board members to add a tenth grade. He found a house nearby that was used for the extra classrooms. He managed to get another grade added each year, and the school became known as Simmesport Colored High School. Its first graduation class had 17 members. The school was later renamed Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, after the first African American to gain national eminence as a poet, but closed with integration. It then became Simmesport Elementary School, and its former high school students were integrated into formerly all-white Simmesport High School. In 1988, Simmesport High School became Riverside Elementary School, leading to the closure of Simmesport Elementary School. The high school students relocated once again to the consolidated Avoyelles High School in Moreauville. The site of Dunbar High School was leased to Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office to serve as a women’s correctional facility, but this closed several years ago. In 2018, the Town of Simmesport took on the former school property, entering a 99-year lease with the Avoyelles Parish School Board. The town plans to turn the property into a community center, and will turn the gym into a multi-purpose room for recreation and entertainment. Community partners will offer life skills and job skills training classes at the center, as well as after-school programs. “Simmesport Hall of Fame” will also be created and housed here to honor those from the area who have made an impact in the community.
Paul Dunbar Laurence High School
OPENED: 1949
CLOSED: 1970
OTHER NAMES OF SCHOOL: Simmesport Negro School, Simmesport Colored High School, Simmesport Junior High School, Simmesport Elementary School
OTHER USES/CURRENT USE: Elementary school, Women’s prison, Vacant
SQUARE FOOTAGE: 31,000 sf
PROPERTY OWNER: Avoyelles School Board