The success of Booker T. Washington School was influenced by principals’ leadership.
Joseph elsberry (above), his wife buela, and their daughter beula d., and his mother, cornelia, lived in a home on West 11th streeet.
Joseph Elsberry
The first principal of Washington School was Joseph Elsberry who started in 1920. Elsberry was also the Superintendent of Colored Schools in Payne County in the 1920s. His involvement with the school also included directing Washington School’s own marching band. The Stillwater Colored Band is recorded to have marched in at least two parades during the summer of 1921.
E. H. Crossley
E.H. Crossley moved to Stillwater during the 1920s and became Washington School’s second principal after Joseph Elsberry.
lee a. ward (above) served the Washington School community for many years.
Lee A. Ward
Lee Ward was the first principal after Washington School was remodeled to be a high school in 1938. Ward was extremely vocal and actively tried to make life better for the Black community of Stillwater. Lee A. Ward conducted a report in cooperation with OSU Sociology professor J. F. Page to document the inequity visible in Stillwater’s Back community. Ward continued to be a positive force for the community throughout his tenure in the 1940s and after he moved schools and remained involved in education within Stillwater.
R. T. Gracey (abovE) presiding over documents.
R.T. Gracey
R.T. Gracey was the last Principal of Washington School in the late 40s and 50s as it faced integration after the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. R.T. Gracey then moved to Bartlesville OK to continue to work in education.
