The Middlesex County Board of Supervisors was informed that renovation of the old Rappahannock Central Elementary (RCE) school cafeteria/auditorium at Cooks Corner into a community center could cost up to $2.9 million for a “heavy” restoration of the building.
During the last years of racial segregation, the RCE building was built in 1962 as a countywide all-Black elementary school. It was converted to an integrated elementary school in the 1969-1970 school year. As an integrated school, RCE served the central and western end of Middlesex County. The all-white Wilton Elementary School, now part of the YMCA complex at Hartfield, was built at the same time around 1962 to accommodate white elementary children in the lower end of Middlesex. It was also integrated in 1969-1970.
RCE school buildings were abandoned by the county when Middlesex Elementary School (MES) at Locust Hill opened in fall 2002. The present RCE building was the old cafeteria/auditorium. Most of the classroom portion of the RCE campus has been razed.
Restoration of the RCE building is part of a broader vision by the county to offer recreational opportunities at Cooks Corner, which includes a playground, outside basketball court, skateboard park, pickle ball court, dog park, walking path, etc. The county recently renovated the old St. Clare Walker gym at Cooks Corner, known today as the Tom Carter Memorial Gym, and used by the Middlesex County Parks and Recreation Department for an office and recreational programs.
