Deaf and Blind School

In 1906, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the Virginia School for Colored Deaf and Blind Children. Founded by deaf humanitarian William C. Ritter and Hampton Delegate Harry R. Houston, the school opened on 8 Sept. 1909 to serve students from throughout Virginia. More than 100 acres were eventually purchased or donated for buildings used for instruction, dormitories, an infirmary, a farm, and other facilities for academic and vocational training programs. Desegregated by 1964, after several name changes the school was renamed The Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-disabled at Hampton in 2000.

Department of Historic Resources, 2006