Ashburn Colored School

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Ashburn Colored School, also known as Farmwell Colored School, was a one-room schoolhouse located in Ashburn, Virginia that was preserved thanks to the efforts of teachers and students at the local middle school. The school was established in 1892 and enrolled students until 1958. Although the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Brown v. Board outlawed segregated schools in 1954, the closure of this school did not result in integration as children were transferred to another segregated school and Loudon County did not integrate until the late 1960s. The institution provided education for grades one through seven during the era of segregation.

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The school was restored thanks to the efforts of middle school students and their teacher.

The school was vandalized on October 1st, 2016, but students and community members rallied to reverse the damage.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

One of the few remaining one-room schoolhouses from the era of segregation in the region, this wood frame building was attended by students for a little more than 60 years. The building was sold during an auction in 1958 and the students were transferred by bus to another segregated school until the community integrated their schools in the late 1960s. Thanks to the efforts of local teachers and students, after 55 years the school was restored in an effort that began in 2014. After two years of student efforts and momentum to preserve and restore the building, it was defaced with graffiti by vandals using dehumanizing and racist language.

Students and teachers at the Loudoun School of the Gifted raised funds and worked with the community to study and share the history of this school. However, as they worked to renovate the school house, vandals placed racist language and symbols as swastikas and a statement of “white power." Judge Alejandra Rueda had a choice in the sentencing, she could have chose fines and a variety of community services but instead she took a different approach. She sought to educate the young boys who had been found guilty of vandalizing the site. This vandals were required to complete a course of education that included 3,500 word essays on the damage that phrases like “ white power” has on communities of color. The vandalization of the school also increased community awareness and led to more donations to preserve the school building and dedicate a historical marker.

Sources

Greene, R. (2017, September 18). Loudoun School for the Gifted Unveils Renovated Ashburn School. Retrieved August 1, 2020,

Barnes, J. (2017, June 12). Loudoun seventh-graders obtain historical marker for Ashburn Colored School. Retrieved August 1, 2020