The story of Washington Coleman Elementary School begins in the late 1800s. Determined to provide elementary education for young African Americans, the Rev. Parham B. Ragland started a school in his backyard sometime around 1875. Though the “Backyard School” was private, Rev. Ragland was able to garner financial support for his project from the Town of South Boston, thus representing the first known public support of Black education in Halifax County. The one-room school grew and led to the establishment of a public Black grammar school in Bloodfield (also called Mayfield). The school was eventually named the M.H. Coleman Grammar School. Though it was damaged by fire in 1937, it was repaired, reopened, and continued to operate until 1948, at which time it was moved to the former Booker T. Washington High School building.

Booker T. Washington High School was built for Black high school students who had been attending classes in unsatisfactory quarters above a store at 1811 North Main Street in South Boston. By 1932 funds raised by the Black community were joined with those from the South Boston School Board to build a four-room school with a library, multipurpose rooms, and a central office. Although the building was well equipped, it was a small school and limited in curriculum. In 1948 Washington High merged with the Halifax Training School (later known as Mary M. Bethune High School) to provide a centralized Black high school with an expanded curriculum. In 1969 Halifax high schools were integrated, and all Black and white high school students began attending Centerville High School. The former all-Black high school was then
renamed Washington Coleman Elementary School. Today, it still serves as an active part of Halifax’s educational community.

The Washington Coleman Elementary School is part of the Halifax County African American Heritage Trail.