By Leonard E. ColvinChief ReporterNew Journal and GuideFor 125 years, Saint Paul’s College was the destination for several generations of African Americans seeking a college education and a means to empower themselves.Saint Paul's College, a private Historically Black College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, opened its doors on September 24, 1888, originally training students as teachers and for agricultural and industrial jobs.But today, the school and its legacy are in haunting silence, broken only by cars passing along the stretch of road it faces. There are no activities in the 11 red-bricked buildings, some of them a century old, which provided a space for housing, classes, or administrators.Many of the structures still have furniture and equipment in them, unused, frozen in time.The school closed after alumni, administrators and the Episcopal Church failed to attract enough students or private and public funding to keep it open.In June 2012, the college's regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, stripped the college of its accreditation. Although the college had been on probation, it lost its accreditation for violations concerning financial resources, institutional effectiveness in support services, institutional effectiveness in academics and student services, lack of terminal degrees for too many faculty members, and a lack of financial stability. The college sued the accreditor, and two months later a court issued a preliminary injunction reinstating the college's probationary accreditation to protect it during further legal proceedings.Although supporters worked on plans to have St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina, another Historically Black University of Episcopal heritage, acquire Saint Paul's, the deal was abandoned in May 2013. Shortly thereafter, Saint Paul's College reported to SACS that it would close on June 30, 2013.Saint Paul's eleven-building campus was situated on 185 acres of green hills. Older buildings were constructed by students and donated by friends of the College.The college has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The chapel at the school was built by students, (circa) 1910. That was Mrs. Linda McCollough's favorite building. She graduated in 1970 with a degree in Elementary Education. She is 75, retired now and living in Henrico County after three decades of service in the classroom. “Sadly, our school is now closed,” she said. “The alumni did not support it enough. There was an effort to get the city (of Lawrenceville) to keep it open in some form. Now it is also dying. There was no realization of how important it was to the Black community or that city.” McCollough recalls that when she attended Saint Paul’s, over 500 students were attending. People were clamoring to get admitted. “I met a lot of good people most of whom went on to various professions,” she said. “I loved the Chapel on Sunday and three days a week. You were taught Christianity and you were given the choice of the Old or New Testam
