The importance of specialized deaf education in the state of Georgia and the role Cedartown played in its early days were highlighted earlier this month during an unveiling of the newest state historical marker.
Located in the family cemetery of Cedartown founder Asa Prior on Brooks Street, the marker recognizes Cedar Valley Academy as a valuable step in the path to providing state-funded education to the deaf and hard of hearing.
The school was located near where the marker stands and was born out of Prior’s desire to properly educate five of his children who were deaf.
Opened in 1835 in the Tan Yard area of Cedartown, CVA was the first deaf school in the state, the first in Cedartown, and one of the first 10 operating deaf schools in the US, to educate deaf children in their native signed language.
The marker notes the importance of John J. Flournoy, a deaf man from Georgia who petitioned the state for educational support for deaf Georgians. From 1835 through 1845, Georgia offered funds for those who wished to attend the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut.
Credit: Jeremy Stewart
Credit: Jeremy Stewart
Established by educator Sarah Whatley and advocated by the Prior family, Cedar Valley Academy became the premier deaf school in the state and the basis for which the state modeled the Georgia School for the Deaf when it funded it in 1845.
Adonia K. Smith, a retired educator and graduate of GSD, worked with Polk County Historical Society Director Arleigh Johnson to research the Prior family history and the role they played in establishing Cedar Valley Academy.
“Cedar Valley Academy was a place where sign language and other sign language were vital. Communication between deaf people and hearing people was understood and valued, and it was a success,” Smith said through an interpreter at the unveiling.
“(CVA) was a place for learning, a place for empowerment, a place for inclusivity, and a place where deaf could intermingle with hearing people. CVA provided a legacy to the Georgia school to develop students where they could grow and become good citizens.”
The marker is part of the program overseen by the Georgia Historical Society as it works with communities and local sponsors to establish public markers throughout the state promoting important events, places or people.
Johnson and Smith worked together to apply for the Cedar Valley Academy marker and were chosen as one of the five markers GHS approved for this year.
“What makes the marker program unique is that it is a collaboration between GHS and communities like yours,” said Breana James, GHS Historical Marker and Program Coordinator.
“With the erection of the Cedar Valley Academy historical marker anyone can simply ride or walk up and read about the evolution of deaf education in the 19th century in America and the impact that Cedartown had on its growth. The deaf education provided at CVA influenced the state legislature to provide funding for specialized education for all deaf Georgians. This marker allows us to look at the events of Georgia’s past and helps us understand the ongoing significance of the past in our lives today.”
Credit: Jeremy Stewart
Credit: Jeremy Stewart
Local educator Jordan Hubbard called Cedar Valley Academy’s story a “pocket of success” in its time.
“This is an example of the investment in education based off of a lobbying effort to get funding back into small communities,” he said.
Hubbard recounted how post-colonial Georgia saw an investment in education through rural areas, but it was tough to see that promise through as children were seen as more valuable as laborers for family farms or businesses.
“The reason you had that pocket is because you had someone lobbying on the behalf of deaf children in a community. And not only did they stand up and say it’s the right thing to do, the state agreed. Hence why we saw funding come in the development of this program,” Hubbard said.
The marker is the first erected in Polk County since 1998 and the first to be established under the Georgia Historical Society. Markers were chosen and erected by the Georgia Historical Commission under the Department of Natural Resources until 1998 when the Georgia Historical Society took over the project.
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
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