Central High School opened in 1939 as Charlotte County's first African American high school. Before its construction, African American students attended the Charlotte Training School, which had been built between 1928 and 1929 with contributions from parents, the community, and the Julius Rosenwald Fund. Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck, and Co., helped pay for the construction of more than 5,000 schools for African Americans in 15 Southern states, including more than 350 in Virginia. Central High School graduated its first class in June 1941 and remained in operation until 1969, when the county consolidated high schools during integration. After consolidation, the building served as Charlotte County's middle school and later as an early childhood center. In 1997, citizens began a project to preserve Charlotte County's African American heritage in a museum, and the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors permitted the museum to be located in the former Central High School library. The Central High Museum opened in 2001 and moved in 2016 to its current location in the renovated building that had served as the school's agriculture building and bus shop. Its collection includes more than 2,500 items documenting African American life, history, and cultural contributions, linking formal education to students' later service as physicians, teachers, college professors, and community leaders.