Most people are familiar with the Robert R. Moton High School in Farmville, but few know about the Robert R. Moton School in Cumberland. The Robert R. Moton School in Cumberland was a two-room Rosenwald elementary school building, constructed in the late 1910s, burned down in 1930, was then rebuilt, closed in 1964, and was eventually demolished During the 1950-1951 school year, Nannie J. Butler taught at the Robert R. Moton School in Cumberland. That same year, Nannie J. Butler’s son, J. Samuel Williams, attended the Robert R. Moton High School in Farmville. On April 23, 1951, he stood with Barbara Johns to help lead the well-known student walkout at the Robert R. Moton High School in Farmville.
During this school year, seventh-grade history enrichment students completed the Robert R. Moton (Rosenwald) School historic roadside marker application. On March 19, 2026, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources officially approved the following historic marker text and location.
Robert R. Moton (Rosenwald) School Robert R. Moton, a nationally significant Black educator, began his teaching career in 1888 at Cotton Town School, which had close ties to nearby Cornerstone and Midway Baptist Churches. The school was replaced ca. 1917-1920 after Matilda M. Booker, Cumberland County’s Jeanes Fund supervisor of education for African Americans, campaigned for better facilities. Financial support came from the Black community, the county, and the Rosenwald Fund, established in 1917 after Booker T. Washington partnered with Julius Rosenwald to build schools for Black students. The school, renamed for Moton, stood 2,000 feet west of here. Rebuilt after a fire in 1930, it closed in 1964 and was later demolished.
Sponsor: Cumberland Middle School
Locality: Cumberland County
Proposed Location: 837 Guinea Road
Just as the Robert R. Moton High School teachers were known for their excellence, the Robert R. Moton School teachers of Cumberland also possessed great acumen. Among the many prominent teachers in this southern Cumberland County community, Robert R. Moton was one of the most well-known. Born on August 26, 1867, Moton grew up in Amelia and Prince Edward counties. He taught at the Cotton Town School in Cumberland, Virginia, during the 1888-1889 school year. That same year, he campaigned for John M. Langston, the first African American from Virginia elected to the United States Congress. The school was later named in his honor and became Robert R. Moton Elementary School. Moton attended Hampton Institute before being appointed commandant of cadets at Hampton. In 1922, he spoke at the Lincoln Memorial Dedication and quickly became an inspiration. In 1915, he became the second president of Tuskegee University. Through hard work and dedication to his beliefs, he became a significant figure of color to be remembered.
Kate Mosely Bartee and Russell Bolling also taught in the Cotton Town community. Kate Mosely Bartee attended Hampton University. When she taught at Cotton Town, Cumberland did not yet have a high school for African American students. Many of her students were high school-aged, along with younger children in the class. She prepared many of her students to attend Hampton University. Russell N. Bolling taught at the Robert R. Moton School in the 1930s. He was a World War I veteran, and his grandfather was Samuel Bolling. Samuel Bolling served as a member of the House of Delegates after the Civil War and was on the land grant board for Hampton University.