Ms. Simms

Ms. Lucy Simms: The Journey from Hilltop Plantation to Effinger Street School

Correlation to the Virginia Standards of Learning: VS.8a, USI.5c, USII.3a-c, USII.4c, USII.9a, VUS.7b-e

Lucy Frances Simms was born into slavery in 1856. Her mother and grandmother were enslaved by Mr. Algernon Gray, a wealthy attorney in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Mr. Gray owned the "Hilltop Plantation" and lived at the Collicello estate near Blacks Run. Just before the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Gray was elected as one of three Rockingham County delegates to serve on the Virginia Secession Convention that convened in Richmond. He initially voted against secession, but later changed his vote after the attack on Fort Sumter on April 4th, 1861.

Mrs. Mary Peake

That same year, a biracial woman named Mary Peake began teaching classes to runaway slaves under the boughs of a large oak tree near Hampton, Virginia. Less than two years later, Union officers gathered a group of runaways at this very same spot for the first southern reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. The large tree still stands to this day and is proudly known as the “Emancipation Oak.” Shortly after the Civil War, the Freedmen’s Bureau acquired land adjacent to the famous oak tree in order to build a trade school for free blacks and formerly enslaved people. Initially known as the “Hampton Normal School” for teachers, it later became “Hampton Institute,” and is presently “Hampton University." In 1874, a formerly enslaved woman from Harrisonburg named Lucy F. Simms enrolled at Hampton Normal School in order to earn her teaching degree. One must wonder if Ms. Simms ever studied under the boughs of the famous oak tree that for so many had come to symbolize freedom, education, and a hopeful future.

Former slaves gather under the oak to hear the words of the Emancipation Proclomation read by a Union officer

The Emancipation Oak as it appears today on the grounds of Hampton University

During her years at Hampton, Ms. Simms met an inspiring classmate that shared her mission to improve the lives of African Americans through education. Similar to Ms. Simms, Booker T. Washington was a fellow Virginian who had been freed by emancipation during his adolescence. Washington graduated at the top of his class at Hampton, and later went on to found the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. What started as a single class in the basement of a black church, by the turn of the century had evolved into the most renowned institution of African-American higher education. Booker T. Washington served as the President of the Tuskegee Institute until his death in 1915.

Booker T. Washington and Lucy Simms were classmates at the Hampton Normal School (presently Hampton University)

Long's Chapel in Zenda

Ms. Simms returned to Harrisonburg in 1877, and she taught her first year at Long’s Chapel in the community of Zenda. This small village near Lacey Spring was formed in 1869 when William and Hannah Carpenter deeded a significant portion of their farm to the United Brethren in Christ, to be set aside for the “colored people of this community…and to their successors forever.” The land was divided into small lots so that the formerly enslaved could establish free and independent lives in the early days of Reconstruction. Ms. Simms later recalled, “My first school was at Lacey Springs, nine miles from my home…I had a very pleasant school, in a very pleasant neighborhood, but not very pleasant pay.”

After one year of working in this one-room schoolhouse, Ms. Simms took a a higher paying job teaching black students in Harrisonburg City. She taught there for the next fifty-six years, only missing one half-day due to illness. In a career that spanned three generations, Ms. Simms taught over 1800 African American students. Despite failing health, Ms. Simms finished the 1934 school year with plans to return to work that coming fall. She renewed her teaching license during the summer break, but tragically died of a stroke on July 10th.

Ms. Simms (right) with three generations of her students (daughter, mother, and grandmother)

Ms. Simms was laid in state at the Effinger Street School before her burial in Harrisonburg’s Newtown Cemetery. In her obituary, the Daily News-Record stated, “The faithful colored teacher has few if any parallels in Virginia. All of the pupils who have entered the primary grade at the Effinger Street School since its establishment passed under her mother-like care.” The paper also reported that her funeral “was the most largely attended colored funeral ever held in Harrisonburg. The colored population attended almost en masse and there were many white persons present to pay tribute to the woman who contributed more to the education of the colored population of Harrisonburg than any other person.” Ms. Simms was buried next to her mother on the northeast side of Harrisonburg. Her tombstone reads, “She was loved and honored for a life of unselfish service to the community and her race. She taught in the Public Schools of the City for 56 consecutive years not losing a day. She rests from her labors.”

The Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center

When Harrisonburg constructed a new school for black students in 1939, it was named in honor of Ms. Simms. The “Lucy F. Simms School” operated until 1966, when the city school system became fully integrated. The building is now known as the “Simms Continuing Education Center,” and it hosts a number of community events, social functions, and evening classes.

The Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year Award

In 2001, Douglas L. Guynn, Esq. successfully endeavored to rename the educator of the year awards in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg City Public Schools in honor of Ms. Simms. Speaking about the need to recognize this historic leader within our community, Mr. Guynn stated, “[Ms. Simms'] legacy is one of an amazing human spirit despite profound adversity.” Thanks to his generous support and hard work, Ms. Simms' legacy lives on as an inspiration for excellence in teaching.

In 2015, the teachers nominated for the Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year Award were recognized by the Hon. Elizabeth Dillon at a special ceremony held at Bridgewater College. Ms. Dillon is the first woman to serve as a Federal Judge in the Western District of Virginia in its 200-plus year history. The historic nature of Judge Dillon's accomplishments served as a fitting parallel to the courageous service that is embodied by the Lucy F. Simms Award. The former Editor and General Manager of the Daily News-Record, Mr. Peter Yates, addressed this connection in a subsequent editorial about the awards ceremony. He wrote, "This award that honors excellence in teaching reminds us all of the barriers that can be broken down through education. Lucy Simms exemplified that ideal through 'service, loyalty, and dedication' during the time of segregation. The Hon. Elizabeth Dillon, having broken the gender barrier on the Federal bench in this part of the state over 70 years after the passing of Lucy Simms, was a perfect choice to remind us of how far we have come but how long it took to get there. Bringing these two women "together" to honor the best teachers in the region was a fitting way to make the award even more special." (1)

1. Yates, Peter. "Excellence Honored." Daily News-Record [Harrisonburg, VA] 21 May 2015: Opinion section. Print.

The Lucy F. Simm Mural in Harrisonburg, Virginia

The City of Harrisonburg recently commissioned a mural of Ms. Simms on the west side of the Elizabeth Street parking deck.

Rockingham County students know their local history!

The above mural served as inspiration for the student artwork pictured below. These "miniature murals" are the work of Mr. Routzahn's Virginia Studies classes at Mountain View Elementary School.

SOURCES:

Jones, Nancy B. Zenda: 1869-1930 - An African American Community of Hope. Bridgewater, Virginia: Good Printers, 2007.

MacAllister, Dale Lucy Frances Simms: From Slavery to a Life of Public Service. 2018