SUSSEX COUNTY, Va. (WWBT) - Jefferson Elementary School opened in Sussex County in 1965 in response to desegregation and closed nearly five decades later due to declining enrollment.

The school sat abandoned and in bad shape until two locals decided to turn the property into a community space.

The Sussex friends hope to preserve the history of the abandoned school building through a renovation that the community can enjoy for generations to come.

“This is room #7. This is my favorite room in the whole building,” Community Coalition of Sussex, Virginia Executive Director Robert Hamlin said. “It’s a community church. And any Sunday that you come up here and look, you will find children coming into this church for church service, and I think that’s great for the neighborhood.”

Hamlin atte

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