The “new” campus for Dinwiddie High opened in the 2008-2009 school year under the supervision of Dr. Charles Marazano, former Superintendent of Schools. We are extremely proud and thankful to our community for funding this state-of-the art facility. We hope to enjoy our new home for many years to come. A time capsule prepared by our students is set in the new building and it will be opened in 2058.
The last Dinwiddie High School building was constructed in 1964-1965, under the supervision of Superintendent, Mr. George M. Hodge. The High School opened its doors to students for the first time in the fall of 1965. County students came to the new high school from the former Dinwiddie High School, Midway High School, Sunnyside McKenney High School, and Southside High School to form the first student body of the new consolidated high school.
The student body consisted of students in grades 8-12 and Mr. Thomas W. Newsom, a former mathematics teacher, coach, and Director of Instruction for the school division, was appointed the first principal. In the spring of the 1966 school year, 117 seniors became the first graduating class.
During the 1969-1970 school year, the student bodies of Southside High School and Dinwiddie High School were combined to form one high school for the entire county for grades 10-12. Southside High School became the Dinwiddie Junior High School for students in grades 8-9.
In 1970, Mr. Newsom was appointed Superintendent of the Dinwiddie School Division, and Mr. Robert Churn became the second principal of DHS. Mr. Churn had been an outstanding teacher, baseball coach, and an administrator in the Petersburg Public School System before coming to Dinwiddie. Robert Churn left Dinwiddie in 1974 to become Dean of Students for Richard Bland College.
Mr. R. Beasley Jones, the Principal of Midway Elementary School, replaced Mr. Churn as principal of Dinwiddie High School. Beasley Jones remained principal of the high school until 1992 when he was appointed Coordinator for At-Risk Students for the School Division. Mr. Dan Ward, III, replaced Mr. Jones as principal, led the school for 8 years, and started many new traditions. Mrs. Barbara T. Pittman served as principal from 2001-2010. She retired in 2010 and Mr. Randall Johnson is serving as the current principal.
Several buildings on the old campus were constructed by vocational students under the direction of former Building Trades Instructor, Oliver W. Rice. Mr. Rice and his students built the field house, the press box, the greenhouse, and numerous other small projects located on the school grounds.
Dinwiddie High School is especially proud of its graduates. Many former “Dinwiddie Generals” are prominent citizens in the community where they are self-employed or working in skilled and professional occupations and are in positions of leadership. The school is also proud of its athletic program and the accomplishments of former athletes. Colleges and universities as well as professional sports organizations recruit athletes from Dinwiddie High School.
One of the most significant events in the school’s history occurred in September 1977 when Mr. Robert B. Pamplin established the current Abrahams Scholarship Fund. Mr. Pamplin, a native of the county and former Chief Executive Officer of the Georgia Pacific Corporation, established the fund in honor of Miss Evelyn Abrahams, his high school English teacher. The Abrahams Scholarship has assisted many Dinwiddie High School graduates with college tuition expenses and the fund remains one of the largest high school scholarship funds in the Commonwealth.
Dinwiddie High School has a rich history and the administration, faculty, student body and community are proud of its heritage.