History

Mary Louise Carr Greer was memorialized in Albemarle County by the dedication of our school in her name in 1979. But there is a history of a determined woman that is not spelled out by the letters on the building. Mary was the daughter of Hugh Carr, a freed slave, and Texie Hawkins Carr. Hugh Carr, who could neither read nor write, worked as a farm manager. He saved and worked to acquire his own land. By 1889 he had 200 acres of land near Hydraulic Road. Mary's mother died when she was very young, but Hugh Carr saw to it that Mary and her five sisters were all given the opportunity to go to college. Mary attended Virginia State College. Following her graduation Mary taught at the Albemarle Training School, a school primarily for blacks, and later became the principal from 1930-1950. It is said that Mary "humanized" the lives of her students. Many lived in her home while attending school. She was a mother to all. The essays she wrote showed a concern for her race and for women "even back then". Mary wrote eloquently about the survival of her people, education and equality.