The Lakeview School historical marker dedication and unveiling ceremony was held on Friday at the Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center at 1218 Batchelor Street, West Columbia.

Rev. Kenneth Taylor of Turner Memorial AME Church offered the invocation. He said the occasion is one to celebrate the great legacy of Lakeview School and it offers hope for greater things in the years to come.

West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles, who spoke, said the Lakeview Community is in the heart of West Columbia and it is the key to West Columbia becoming the best that it can be.

West Columbia Dist 5 Councilman Mickey Pringle also spoke. He said Lakeview School contained a lot of love throughout the years and it has a rich history. Pringle said its teachers expected their students to do well. He also said is it is important to make sure our kids know the legacy of Lakeview School.

Cayce Mayor Elsie partin acknowledged that Cayce City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem. James “Skip” Jenkins is a Lakeview graduate. She said the marker will help to make sure the school is remembered in its role in the fabric and success of our community.

The Lakeview School historical marker is the first marker recognizing a former all-African American school in Lexington County.

The marker, approved by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, reads:

“Lakeview School was the last site of a segregated school for Black residents of Brookland-Cayce School District with roots to at least the 1900s. First called the Brookland or New Brookland Colored School, it was located on Lacy Street by c.1931 when it served grades 1-8. Grade 11 was added in 1938-39, making it then a 4-year high school with 4 initial graduates.

Lakeview left its facility on Lacy Street in 1949. when the school moved to a new brick building at this site. A new elementary building in 1953 and other later additions were funded by the State Equalization Program, an effort to preserve segregation by upgrading the quality of African-American schools. In 1968 the School District closed Lakeview amid efforts at desegregation. A year later the campus was repurposed for the new Northside Middle School.”