Address
2551 New Market Road
Henrico, VA 23231
Geo Coordinates
37.444960, -77.353601
Description
Varina School was dedicated in 1909 with an address by Governor William H. Mann. The school was built in response to the effort to consolidate schools in Henrico County. Four one-room schools, Osborne, Fort Harrison, Laurel Hill, and Town Hall were closed, and the pupils were sent to the new two-story building, which served both the elementary and high school classes for eleven years.
In 1916, Varina School was accredited as a four-year high school. A separate stucco building was built next to the two-story building in 1920 with funds provided under the Smith-Hughes Act to foster the study of vocational agriculture. The first class of the Varina Agricultural High School had twenty students, seventeen of whom were boys majoring in agriculture. The principal, George Baker, served as the first agricultural teacher, and the curriculum was offered until 1941, the year Baker retired.
In 1928, another addition to the Varina campus was made. The primary, or auditorium building housed six classrooms and an auditorium with a seating capacity of six hundred. At that time the stage in the auditorium served the dual function as a stage and gymnasium. In 1934, a new industrial arts building was completed on campus.
The two-story stucco building which housed the original agricultural high school was demolished and replaced with a new building in 1939.
