Christiansburg Industrial Institute

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In 1866, Captain Charles S. Schaeffer, a Freedmen's Bureau agent, organized a school for blacks on the hill just to the southeast. Charles L. Marshall of Tuskeegee Institute became principal of the school in 1896. Under his guidance and with support from Philadelphia Quakers, a library, dormitories, classrooms, shops, and barns were constructed. Both academic and industrial classes were offered at the institute until 1947 when it became a public high school. In 1966, the institute graduated its last class, and its property was sold at public auction.

Note: Note that the second sentence of the marker is incorrect, and should read: Charles L. Marshall of Tuskegee Institute became principal of the school in 1896.

Marker: K-68, Virginia Department of Conservation and Historic Resources (1988)