Near this site stood the original public school building for black students in the Arkadelphia public school system. Noted principals included Ms. P.A. Holmes from 1872 to 1873, John Ed Peake from 1877 to 1881, 1897 to 1898, and 1904 to 1906, and Sam Hildreth from 1907 to 1914 and 1916 to 1939. The building burned in 1926 and was replaced by a new school in 1928 named after former principal John Ed Peake.