Sumner School was a school for Aftican Americans in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and ...

. It was established in 1862 during the American Civil War. J. Rupert Jefferson led it for more than 40 years. It closed in 1955 after desegregation. The school's 1926 gymnasium is now the Sumnerite African-American History Museum and Multipurpose Center. It was originally known as Parkersburg Colored School. The school was renamed for abolitionist U.S. senator Charles Sumner. Michael J. Rice wrote ''The Sumner 7: A History of Sumner High School''.

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Buildings and structures in Parkersburg, West Virginia Historically segregated African-American schools in West Virginia 1862 establishments in the United States Educational institutions established in 1862 1955 disestablishments in West Virginia Educational institutions disestablished in 1955 {{AfricanAmerican-stub