Program

Hometown Heritage®

Subject

Event, People

Location

798 US-13, Ahoskie, NC 27910, USA

Lat/Long

36.353552, -76.979577

Grant Recipient

Chowan Discovery Group

William David “Davie” Newsome helped establish the first schoolhouse for the Pleasant Plains community in 1866 and was its first teacher. Newsome had previously taught students at the Roanoke Island freedmen’s colony established by the U.S. military and missionary organizations. While at Pleasant Plains, he not only oversaw the school, but selected teachers and acquired funding for the school.

During the Civil War, Newsome served as a private in the 36^th Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry. After the war, he was a leading force in his community of color. Active in education, he served for two years in the North Carolina Legislature and was a prosperous land and business owner. Upon his death in February 1916, his obituary stated that he “owned most of the land lying between the towns of Winton and Ahoskie.”