The Barrett Daycare Center, formerly the
Janie Porter Barrett Day Nursery, is the oldest day care
center in the State of Virginia. Named after Mrs. Janie
Porter Barrett, an African-American teacher whose life was
dedicated to the education of African-American children in
Virginia, the center was organized in the Fall of 1935 by
Daisy V. Green, a registered nurse of Petersburg, Virginia
and former employee of the Charlottesville City Health
Department and supported by the Works Project Administration
of the Education Department. The Nursery was originally
located in a building owned by Courtney D. Goodloe at 126
Fourth Street, N.W.. This small facility served as the
Nursery's home until August 1940, when it closed upon Mrs.
Greene's departure. In January 1941, the Nursery re-opened
under the same name and still under the support of the WPA.
After the WPA was liquidated in 1943, the daycare received
funds from state, local, and private sources. Throughout the
1940's and 1950's, the Nursery inhabited several locations.
In 1953, the board proposed a new building for the daycare;
the architectural
drawings for the planned daycare have been
preserved. Finally, the daycare moved to its present
location of 410 Ridge
Street in the late 1950's. The Barrett Daycare
Center continues to operate in this location today.
Among
these papers, there are a number of accounts that summarize
the history of the daycare. One example is a hand written
history from 1953.
