Haymarket High School

In September of 1909, the Prince William County School Board purchased a lot on the North end of Fayette Street from Franz Peters (HHS). On this land, they began the construction of a school house (HHS). This new school house opened in 1910 and originally was a simple two room frame building (Toler). In these two rooms first through seventh grade were taught. Years later in 1920, two more rooms were added so that high school grades could be taught in addition to the younger grades (Toler). By the 1933-1934 school year, the school housed 193 students and was viewed as overcrowded (Toler). Because of this, the School Board decided that it was necessary to build another new school (Toler).

By 1941 no more high school students attended Haymarket High School but the building was still used as a school for lower grades (Toler). Younger students were taught at the facility until 1947 when James R Gossom purchased the building at a School Board auction for $5,000 (Toler). Following this sale, the building was converted to apartments which were later burned down (Toler). Today, this lot remains empty (Toler).

The students from Haymarket High School still keep in touch with each other despite now being spread out across the country. In 1990, the graduating class of 1940 hosted a high school reunion which fourteen out of the nineteen graduates attended (Dean). At the reunion the alumni talked about their families, gave gifts, and passed out awards (Dean). In addition, they reflected on their time at the school (Dean). Evelyn Smith Lundsord said, “It brought back many memories. I spent all of my school life in that building from first grade through high school. There were four rooms inside and a shack out back. We didn’t have any indoor plumbing back then. Our basketball court was outside and the boys played soccer and baseball” (Dean).

Dean, Eddie. “Haymarket High School Graduates Reunite.” Potomac News, 13 June 1991. RELIC,

https://eservice.pwcgov.org/library/digitalLibrary/hsdw/H_Folder/HaymarketHighSchoolNN-NNN/pdfs/HaymarketHighSchoolNN-NNNNewsArtA.pdf. 

“Haymarket High School .” The Town of Haymarket Virginia, https://www.townofhaymarket.org/museum/page/haymarket-high-school.

Toler, John T. “Haymarket High School, Fondly Remembered .” The Haymarket Lifestyle Magazine, Mar. 2011, pp. 5–12.