What do York County residents think of Magruder School name? Find out Sept. 8

Good morning! York County school board gets the results of a poll of county residents about changing school's name during their next work session Sept. 8, along with SOL test results.

Aug 27, 2025

pictures of Magruder school and sign — Williamsburg Watch photos

York County’s school board will hear what citizens think about renaming Magruder Elementary School at their work session next month.

But several speakers at their Aug. 25 meeting already had a new name in mind – Bruton Elementary.

The future of Magruder’s name has been in play since 2020, when Bruton resident Mary Lassiter and her brother Carl Lassiter began a campaign to rename Magruder Elementary, as well as James Blair Middle School in Williamsburg.

Gen. John B. Magruder, a Confederate general, ordered the destruction of Hampton by fire in August 1861 to prevent it from falling into Union hands and to stop the town from becoming a safe harbor for runaway slaves.

After months of research into the origin of the school name and discussions about whether other schools would also need to be renamed, the school board asked staff to poll county residents about their preference.

The results of the poll will be reviewed with the school board at its Sept. 8 work session, Board Chair Kimberly S. Goodwin announced Monday night.

The Williamsburg-James City County school board tabled renaming James Blair Middle School after a similar poll showed the majority opposed changing the name.

Several speakers at the York school meeting Monday recommended Magruder elementary be renamed Bruton Elementary.

The Magruder name is a “quiet tribute to a painful and oppressive past,” said Sam Ray, who identified himself as a resident of District 3. “Keeping the name tells students and families , especially those from communities of color, that their experiences, their history, their dignity are secondary. It sends the wrong message about whom we choose to honor.”

York school board members will also get the results of the last school year’s Standards of Learning (SOL) tests when they meet next month.

pictures from Muscarelle exhibit — photos by Reuben Wu, left, Ami Vitale, courtesy of Conservation International

The Muscarelle Museum unveils a new photography exhibition today of ecologically fragile sites across the globe and the people working to protect them.

“VITAL: Our Irreplaceable Earth, presents more than 60 pictures by eight photographers who were commissioned to uncover the stories of places deemed critical to the environment, from Australia to Cambodia to Liberia. It runs at the Muscarelle from Aug. 27 to November 2.

The exhibition is curated by Ami Vitale, a well known National Geographic photographer, writer and filmmaker.

“These are not just photographs; they are windows into ecosystems, cautionary tales of human impact and invitations to take meaningful action,” she said. “Now is the time to listen deeply, to look closely and to tell stories that move us to act—with clarity, with compassion and with courage.”

The exhibition is backed by the science of Conservation International, an organization working to spotlight the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity. In 2021, Conservation International scientists identified ecosystems that hold vast reserves of “irrecoverable carbon” — climate-warming carbon that, if released into the atmosphere through the destruction of these landscapes, could not be recovered in time to prevent the worst climate impacts.

One week left to name Mace Award nominee

Williamsburg City Council is accepting nominations for the city’s Mace Bearer award through Sept. 8 at this link: .

The award recognizes individuals or groups who have made a lasting, positive impact on the city.

Jim Joseph, the longtime president of the Neighborhood Council of Williamsburg, received the first award in 2022. Community Activist Robert “Bobby” A. Braxton received the second award in 2023.

The award is named for the Mace of the City, a Colonial-era artifact that is now part of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s museum collections. In the 18th century, maces were used ceremonially to convey the importance of an event or function.

It is believed that the Mace of the City of Williamsburg was carried in a municipal procession on May 1, 1783, in celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War.

The winner will receive the award in December.