The Parrish Hill Rosenwald School was built in 1920 to replace a one-room school on the site. The school is significant as one of the thousands of schools constructed for African Americans in southern states during the first part of the twentieth century with the support of philanthropist Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Fund, and the expertise of the Tuskegee Institute under Booker T.Washington’s leadership. In Virginia, 366 schools and 16 auxiliary buildings were constructed with assistance from the Rosenwald Fund between 1917 and 1932, of which an estimated 126 remain. Of the six Rosenwald Schools in Charles City County, three remain: Wayside School, Mica School, and Parrish Hill School; Kimages School, Union Baptist School, and an early Ruthville School have all been demolished. Also significant for its design, the school follows a “two teacher” standard plan developed by architect Samuel L. Smith, a director of the Rosenwald Fund.
The school had a “community league” or a group that helped support and fund the school. Community members were vocal advocates, which may be why the Parrish Hill School remained open when other small schools were closed. The school absorbed new students as the county moved to consolidate schools in the 1930s and 1940s. Parrish Hill School closed after the 1958-59 school session. Although it was sold in September of 1959, it was pressed into service briefly to house students displaced by a January 1960 fire at the Ruthville School. Parrish Hill was the last of the Rosenwald Schools in Charles City County to cease operations. It was privately owned until the county government purchased it in 2021.
Hanbury Preservation Consulting prepared the National Register nomination for Parrish Hill School which was listed in February 2025.