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Dorsey Ford History of ed in Loudoun county
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University of Richmond
UR Scholarship Repository
Honors Theses
Student Research
Spring 1937
History of education in Loudoun county
Ford Dorsey
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses
Recommended Citation
Dorsey, Ford, "History of education in Loudoun county" (1937). Honors Theses. Paper 329.
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
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3 3082 01029 0061
'
HISTORY OF DUCAT IOT'T IN LOUJ)QUN CClJ"":TTY
by
norsey Ford
I'.ay 20, 193?
E1:GF1:..CE
This pe.pcr is :prepe...roa. as n.n ori ·jnal
monograph in American History.
rese:..~rcii
In it the au th or has
tried to give a true accom1t of the schools in Loudoun
County, Virginia, fror:1 the earliest times up to the
ii::.."esent.
In orde1" to
avoic~.
excessive monotony, he
h~ . s
divided the 65 years since 1870 in ten year periods.
vri th only such in termed ia te material af> uas necessary·
to bring in the most im1rnrtant
ha~;pmings.
I..lthough
inadequacy of material vras often encom1tered,, the es:'entials oi' the story ho..ve all been
is~·-
include~;.
so
t~1L
t
this
fairly com)lete treatment.
'
The author is deeply indebted for the cooperation
and assistc.nce rernlerecl by Dr. Ralph C. TTcDanel, ?Ir.
L. Emerick, and liiss Ruth NJ. Emerick.
been gathered. from
t~1e
University of Virginia
Emerick 1 s Office.
University of Richmond,
!'.Tr: y ?4 J 19~7
'-'
•
··~1,o
""""
0...
Materials hi:.ve
Virginia State Library, The
-.
..LJl 'orary,
fand Superintendent
n.
L.
TABLE OF CO.NT~I\fT S
Preface
Page
In trod.ucti on_
1
Early Private Schools
The Introduction of ?ublic Free Schools
-
4
9
The First necade is Ended -
.... 17
'.i:he Lag at the Turn of the Century -
- 25
The High School
~rG
Today and Tomorrovv Bibliography
;;\.ppendix
29
37
- 1 -
IlJTRODUCTION
Loudoun Counw is loca te\l in .the extreme northern µ1, rt
of the st2cte of Virginia.
It is bounded by Fauquier ard Prince
'William Counties on the south, Fairfax County on the east, the
Potomac River on tb.. e north, and by Clarke County D.nd Vlest Virginia on the west.
Lou,doun is one of the largest and. richest
counties in the state, containing some 519 sq,uare miles of
good. farming land,
That larrl is typical of the Piedmont sec-
tion of Virginia, somewbat rolling and particularily suited to
agriculture.
This area was a portion of the original six mil-
lion acres, lying betvrnen the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers,
granted by King Charles II of England to six nobles, afterward kno,·n as tre Fairfax pg, tent.
Settlers probnbly first
appeared in t:t1is section between 1725 and 1730.
were ma.de up of three general groups.
These settlers
First, in 1726, cane
pioneers f1•orn. Eastern Virginia of Ene;lis..Yi.. Cavalier stock viho
loc~:ted
east of t':Je Cc;.toctin !."'ountains.
They are responsible
for first intror,ucing and fostering slavery.
Then from Penn-
sylvania, Nev.f Jersey ana. siraryland came people of Gerrre..n,
Irish, Scotch-Irish, Scotch, and Dutch origin to settle west
of the Cat oct in lfountains.
They were hearty, rugged, God-fear-
ing :peoples ari.d it is :pi"'oba bly more to their thrift and industry than anything else tba t real progreos has been made in
the County.
nefini te groups of Quakers or Friends, descen-
dents of these people, still rem-:dn today at Waterford. and
- 2 -
Lincoln.
It was in these localities th,t some of the earliest
public schools were established.
The third group of settlers
was composed of refugees who, after Braddock's defeat in 1755,
came bo_.ck out of the Valley of Virginia· to less hazardous t
0
tory.
er::.~ i-
They established t1Jerrselves mainly in the region south
of tbe end of
t..~e
Short Hills,in the northei"n pe.rt of the
Count Yo
Throug:hout most of the settlerrent period, present day
Loudow1 Connty we.s stj_ 11 a pa rt of the Fairfax grant.
In
1757 on Hay second, an Act of the Virginia House of :Burgesses
created Loudoun County as a distinct geographical unit •
Cowity was
n~:.med
peer of Scotland.
The
for the Lord of Loudoun, a representative
He had been apDOinted Cs.ptain-gene:ral anl
Gov er nor-in-chief of t r.i.e pr·ov inc e of Virginia, ar.d Commanderin-chief of the 'British Uilitary forces in the colonies during
1
the French and Indllin War, about 1756.
Education among the early settlers was limited to a few
months attendance at some private school, such as tllsn existed
in parts of Virginia, or to tra·ining in the home.
Few people
udvanced further tlan this, for those were truly the days of
the three "rrs."
A schoolmaster would c·: . nvass the community,
soliciting pupils at $1.00 to $2.50 per month, furnish his own
books and conduct a school.
who~y
The settlers themselves were not
at fault for such a poor educational set up.
They had
1. Po A. Deck and Henry Heaton, An Economic and Social Survey
of Loudoun County, p:i.-:e 9.
- 3 -
a high appreciation of the adVLLntages which accomp:my ec1ucution and a deep desire to improve themselves and_ offer better
advunta0es to their children,
energy.
bll t
other affairs took all their
They hac_ land to cleur, crops to cul ti vo. te, families
to feed and :.vars to fij1 t so that it was some time before they
could set a.round to education,. a ncl -the-, - when the:ir dicl they vrere
interrupted re:ieatedly.
The Revolutionary Vlar ari:. then tl1e
business of helping to bnild a National, State sncl County government took their time.
The sta 1.)ilizin{:>; influence of t11c new
government "brought prosr.Jerity anrl with it interest in the cause
of education.
Then as matters were settlecl d011m, the Vlar of
1312 broke out, in which tl-ie capital of the United Sta,.-es v;as
moved to Leesburg (Louc1oun's largest tovm) for a brief period.2
Next t~1e !Texican. Viar and trien the d.isasterous Civil War com-
pletely
~·recked
the County.
Al though Balls Bluff was tl: e only
real battle, there ·aere Lmumerable skirr:lishes, cavalry engagemen ts, much guerrilla warfare and many armies encamped in the
territory.
Mosoy's Rangers_were the nost fam;-.us of Louctoun's
Military band.s.
Thus crops,. business and. nuildinzs ·:re re cles-
troyed, food s up9lie s demolished. ani r:c..ny men kill en_.
.A.long
\'Iith these tra'.'"edies much necessity and. rirant ':ras felt 8.mong
those who stayed
c:~t
hor0.e t(.' try to raise wh'--'t crops t?iey co·,;. ld..
It has been estiP.12.tecl
tn.s~t t~1is
confluct set Loudoun educc:...tion
back some twenty-five years.
--·--- -
2.
--------------------------------
This incident occurred when the National Capitol at Vlashington
was endangered by British forces. Books e..nd. pe:.pers, incl udL'g
the Federc.1 Cor'st.itution and the Decl~iration of Inde-oenclence
were hastily packed in nags and loaded in vragons and.- moved
first to Georgetovm and t:;.en to Leesburg where they were
kept locked up for several dc.ys unti 1 the 3ri ti sh L.rmy had
gone to Bal timorc. There is sooe dis )Ute <:·.s to ..-d1e :;.."'e these
documents ·were c:.ctilll::'. ly stored. For further discussion see
Deck and Heaton, op. cit. p. 16.
- 4 -
EARLY PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Since its settlement beginning in 1726, Loudoun County
like most Southern localities has been unfavorably situ.:ted
for public education.
Those people who were educationally
inclined provided education for their children by private tutors
or by sendi.115· them away to boarding academies or to ':England.
Advantages were so poor for the masses tm t by the time of the
Civil War they lnd made practically no
lutionary conditions.
~a.vane
es from pre-Revo-
Besides there was the helpless negro po-
population which received only a minimum of education.
Thomas
Jefferson advocated. a plan of primary schools for these more
unfortunate ones in 1318 but the legislation was ineffective and
nothing tangible ever resulted.
education iNas very unpopular.
Any suggestion of public free
The poor would not help th ens elves
because they didn't want to become charges of the state and
the more "well-to-do" classes refused to cooperate on the
ground that free schools were only for. those who couldn't afford
to educate their ovrn children. 3
to public education.
People had not yet been educated
This sad state of affairs is partly to
blame for the fact that prior to the Civil Vlar only one-half of
the white children vrere reached by education and they composed
only one-third of the school age population, the other two -thirds
being colored children.
During this period, 1800 to 1860, generally speaking, most
of those children who received formal education, did. so, by vir3o C. J. Heatwole, A History of Education in Virgina, ;:ege 210.
- - 5 -
tue of ihe a elven t of the Academy.
when the academy ty9e of school
vv~s
states up and down the east coast.
These years. in cl ud e the time
in
vogue~
the various
Loudoun, cuite fittingly,
had its cro:p of these private schools.
The Leesburg Academy
heads the list as the earliest and most famous academy in Loudoun Count,y.
An old record found in the Clerk's office of the
County am dated on the l '7th of .A.:pril, l '7'79, V\Il ich is an orcler
of the ola:. county court> gives the follovring interestj_r,g information.
nupon the representation of the inhabitants of tl1e
Town of Leesburg for leave to build. a school house on the
Cou~t
House lot, it is ordered that forty square feet of land, on the
sout11west of said. lot be appropriated for that purpose.n
As
far as the records go no building vms erected there, a11d this
conclusion is further verified from the fact tl1'.:,t none of the old
pictures of the town show a buila_ine situLtod at tne :point, or
at any other point on the original Court House Yard. lot.
It
is presumed tba t the project was abandoned. 4
As time went on a need v;as felt for a school in LeeslJm"'g
because of the entire lack of suitable schools and ecluoatioral
establishments and ins trnct ion outside of the cities o
Thus ,
twenty years after the first attempt in 1799, a charter was secured from the General Assembly of Virginia for wl:u t was knovJn
as the Leesburg Academy.
The records show tba t this academy
was established. in a small b:cick school house near the center
of the lot upon v1hich the present Leesourg Higl1 School stands.
The old academy lot ha.d em.braced only a i1art of the new lot.
4. William Co Ha.11, History of Leesburg School.
,.
-
0
-
For some reason this school was later t emriorarily a bandonefl.
About 1835,
~~e
University of Virginia began a campaien
for the establis11ment of schools for 9reparing young men for
college.
This institution sent out some of her most di stin-
c_:_uishe cl profess ors, c;m o.ng the-,, D1,. !ircGuffy, the funous compiler of the famous re:'-:ders, vrho came to TJeesburg and aroused
such enthusiasm that a new lJ uildil'1g, now the Clerk's office was
erected c"t the sontheastern end of vrhat is novr a part of the
Court House Yard.
This b uildi n0 vm.s co mpletea. in 1844 and pa id
for vv ith fnnd.s raised. le.rgely 11y the holding of a lottery.
It
was deernecl sufficient for educational purposes until 1872, in
which year it
office.
Yms
sold to Loud.olill Colill ty to be use cl as
B.
Clerk's
A lot on the corner of Wirt and North Streets, which
also incl nded. the original Lees bUl"'g Academy Jot ,_.ras then purchased. from the JL. te Henry T. Harris on for the ea. uca ti on of
the white youth of Leesburg.
The funds from the s2.le o-f the
cld academy vrnre turned aver to a Boar:d of TrLlstecs and in
1875 a new academy was com:Qleted.
It was o;:iend. the folloVJing
ye:::r as o. boarding school for boys.5
Before continuing to oih er academies in Leesburg and other
parts of the County
let.~
carry this school throug:1 to the buila.-
ing of the prc::sent modern Leesburg High School Bui1dirig.
In
1870, a public school had. been organized and wo.s conducted in
tv:o build inzs on fue 7Jood Schoul lot on Royal Street.,
These
buildings caught fire arnl were bnrned to the ground in Febnrnry
of 1893.
5o ~·
The c1asses ..rere ti1en held in the old Loua.oun Hotel
- 7 -
while a new six room building was teing erectea..
This sa:c:e
building continued to be used until it was torn down for the
erection of the present building.6
The agitation for a new building began in 1914 and at
tba t time the first obstacle was the question of the ovnrnrship of the lot.
Examination of the records showed t:1e title
, to the present lot to be in the name of the Trustees of the
Leesburg Academy of '<'h ic h Hr. Co P. Janney vms the only s urvivor.
Through the institution of a suit the lot W8.s trans-
ferred. by a deecl from Mr. Janney to the school authorities
of Leesburg Tovm School nis tric/~on ])ecemher 30th, 1914. 7
The spring of 1916 saw the movement for a ne\'I school
building take definite shape.
Upon application to the Circuit
Court for Loudoun County on April 18, 1916, the Court as by
.1,.
law provided, ordered a special election for a boerrd issue
of $30 ,OOO .oo on· !·fay 20, 1916 and this issue was carried by
the people by a vote of 175 to 54"
But on August 22, in a
suit which had been filed, the Court gr2.nted
ari.
injuction
restraining the extension of the tax necessary to provide for
the retirEmBnt of the bonds, the _interest! upon them ancl the
maintenance of the proposed school.
The Constitution of Vir-
ginia in Section 136 limited the total amount of County and
nistrict school taxes to fifty cents on the hundred dollars.
Ha turally those interested in the new building were clismayed
at this si tua.tion, but
6 0 !.fil..g..
7 • ll.;i.g, •
there~
zeal could not be
supp1~essed.
- 8 -
Immediately they began steps toward the amendment of the
Constitution.
The amend.men t VJas passed by the General Assembly in 1920
and ·was approved by the people in the regular rovember elec-
tion of the same
ye;.~.r.
Ordinarily it would have been ne ces-
sary to wait another two years for the proposed amendment,
but tbe urgency of the situation \'.'C..s such tho,t a special
bill was _passed to make it effective then.
The way nov1 seemed. clear for a new school build. ing, and.
upon applichtion to the Circuit Court on February 15th, 1921,
the Court as by law provided, ordered a special election for
a bond issue of $78,000.00.
In the election held on r:o.rch
3rd, 1921, the bona.. issue was carried by a vote of 290 to 69. 8
Construction on the new building vms begun right away and
a beautiful ne':r structure was erected.
This b n. ilcling later
burned a.. own and was rep lac ea. by the present s true ture.
Going back to the point of
depa~t:iJt•e.,we
see tret there
were other academies in Loudoun from time to ti me.
Leesburg alone had. si:x: schools.
schools.
In 1834,
Three boys and three girls
The other two boys schools vrnre English acadenies
in contrast to the old.er Latin schools. Two of the girls
schools also obtnined. renown. 9 Other villages in different
po,rts of the County had. t..Yieir academies also.
Near Hughs-
ville th ere was the Franklin Taylor School of the Society
of Friends ( Q.uakers) , 'ahich ran from 1825 to 1860 o
80 Ibid.
9o
At
The increase in the number of voting and the majority
was d.ue to the right of vromeh to vote, acquired in 1919.
A. J. Harrison, The Be innin s of Public Education in Virginia, page 130. ..1..here seems to e a very _i u e ur vher information about these schools as no records or more definite
accounts seem to exist.
- 9 -
Middlebu~g_?n
the southern edge of the co uty, William
Vlilliamsom cona.uc ted the lT.iddle1m=;-y School from 1805 to 1836.
The Quakers also had a school at Waterford, from 1800 until
the Civil War.
Hillsboro had its Hillsborough Acader:1y, from
1845 to 1855 ani there was also the Reverend Ben Bridges'
School in Broad Rwi District (1845-1860). 10
After the Civil War,education of all kinds was at a
very low ebb in Loudoun as in most parts of Virginia and
the South.
Illiteracy was appalling among all c1asses,
both white and colored.
Furthermore the Viar had played
havoc with the County's resources.
Property values 1,7ere
greatly diminished and people couldn't afford to be taxed
for schools or anything else.
They had to devote every
effort to reconstruction so that for a time (1861-1870)
Loudoun had practically no schools of any kind..
.A.cad.emies
'
had passed by the way and nothing had been found t c; replace
them ..
THE II:rTRODUCTION OF PUBLIC FREE SCIIOOLS
Virginia, in
orde1~
to comply vvi th the Federal law, had
to draw up ancl adopt a new constitution before read.miss ion
to the union.
This new constitution contained the first pro-
visions for a com9lete system of public education.
Virginia
adopted the constitution in July 6, 1869 ani Congress passed
·an Act admitting Virginia into the Union in 18 70.
That act
provided that "the constitution of Virginia shall nwer be
10 ..
~.
page 173.
- 10 -
so amended, or chs..riged as to deprive any citizen, or class
of citizens of the Unit ed. States of the school rights aril.
privi1iges secured by the constitution of the said state." 11
Immediately Loudoun was faced with the pro 1Jlem of raising
funcls for schools in the face of fue
minent people.
op~)OSition
of many .rn'o-
These people who opposed the new school sys-
tem, and oppos e(l it vri th determination, were in most cases
educated ana. refined.
They regarded it
e,~s
an organization
to promote the interests and ta elevate the conditions of the
negroes and the lower class whites at the expense of the property owners.
The character and level of these schools
was not at all wh: t it should have been and. their attitude
ws.s somevrhat justified because of the poorness of the accomodations.
They were probQbly glad to be excluded from them.
These schools vrere in fact attended only by those who could
not afford to make better provisions for their cc1.:il:l.ren.
r..~uch
to the regret of the school trustees the limited funds
prevented the employmsnt of competent and experienced teachers.
Teo che r qu11l if ica tions had. to be fixed very low, on ace ount
of the poor so,laries.
.b.lt ~iough no records exist as to the
dates of tri_e actual foundings of these early public schools,
by referring to the deeds to school property, ne c2.n see where
real est.te was first purclnsed an:1 assur.c:.e tlr.t the establishment of schools has some a.ec;ree of correlation to the imrchase
of the property.
January 3rd, 1868.
purc~1ased
The earliest of these school deeds is ds.ted
In it, five white men actinc; a.s ac;ents
one fourth acre of land for the purpose of e1•ec-
llo Heatwole, ()p. Cit. }:0.ge 214.
- 11 -
tine a house for colored children in Vlatei"ford and vicinity
for school and church purposes.12
The provision to use the
school property for religious purposes was d.ouotless not only
for economy 1rn.t especially to appease ar.id try to get the
approval of those opponents of public education.
The fact
t:J.1at negro public schools vrere the first estal)lished
~ends
some ground to the thesis of those property hola.ing opponents
of eduCEction, since prt:,ctically no negroes owned taxable
property.
Closely follorving this, othe:'." property was "tought for
schools and divine worship, but this property vlf'.s slo for
the colored
popul~::,tion.
On 'December 22, 1871, lam was pur-
chased in Broad Run District for the Conklin Colored Schoo1. 13
This propei"'ty was bou.ght for $1.00 and "when the free school
system shall cease to be or the 1and a1;andoned as a school
site" it was to revsrt
his heirs.
b~;.ck
to the grante:i." (Horace Adee} or
Land ·was a.ls o purchased at Lincoln for a necro
school, this in 1872.
Here VJe see tro.t negro education was
getting an ec.rly start in Loudoun in spite of the fight agains t it put up 1{7 rr.any of the better v::ti te citizens.
viss r.1..u? 12.rt;ely to tl,e
s~,ronc
a_esire of the colored people
for education, of vh ich they had so 1i ttle.
cently been slaves
am
This
They had re-
were nmv determined to better t':l.em-
12. Deeds, pu.ge 10. The_propertywas sold byRuebenE. and
Rachel Schooly for $75. The a'"ents were, Jonathan Cannady, I.fa tthew Ha1'"'vey, Alfred Craven, Henson Young am
'Daniel Webster Minor of Loudoun County hnd Virginia. The
language of this u.nd other deeds is extremely interesting
in the method of locating the boundaries of the land. Lines
fre~uently ran to certain trees, roads, rocks, etc.
13. ~· page 27. Still in use, see Appendix I.
- 12 -
selves.
We even see that t'ney were more liberal in their
contributions than the vlnites in proportion to their means.
Many of them were willing to make sacrifices to accomplish
their object.
taxes
am
Their funds, however, were supplemented by
white a.o.ns.tions. 14
Property for white schools was bought in the next few
years in seve1 al places.
1
To be specific at Hillsboro in 1874,
Marble '"uarry, 1875, :Brooklyn, 1876, Coal Spring and St. Louis
in 1877, Wate1•fora., Sterling and. Lincoln in 1879 and at Rock
Hill in 1880.
But d.on't be mislea..
Public schools for tbe
education of white children were started. before the above
a.ates.
As seen above a public school was started in Leesburg
in 1870 in \Vhich fairly good. teachers were employecl.
This
school was started off on a fairly high plai.."1 so that nearly
every one in th"t community patronized it.
The Leesburg
graded school enrolled 143 pupils, 71% of 101 of rihich attended regule.r1y.
John W. Wood. vras the principal of this first
·white public school a.n:l was assisted by two othc;r teachers.
The Peabody Fund supplied $360.00 of the money necessary to
run it, the rest being contributed by local citizens.
The
high standard of the school is well illustrated. by the fact
that it r-o..n for ten months. 15
Thus something of a precedent
was set ar.d the success of this school influenced many other
localities to try similar urojects.
Liberal contributions
helped in various townships and new plans vrere drawn up so
tbat now the horizon seemed brighter for the new school system.
14. Virginia School Report, 1872, page 38.
15. Virginia School Report, 1871, i:age 192.
- 13 -
Meanwhile, other schools had been established in all
parts of the County under the supervision of John VJ. 1Hildman,
the County Superintendent.
Although only officially employed
for 100 days, Ivir. Wildman by much hard work made real progress.
At the close of 1872, after three years of prolific work lle
had some 55 schools in operation.
Some of these were, however,
very poorly housed and equiped, only 44 of them having sizable grounds, 24 with good furniture, 4 had wall maps and oni1y
2 l'fath Charts.
Six buildings were actt:ally unfit for use.
In spite of these defects, I think fu e man bad performed wonders, starting from nothing, against much oppositionanl vlith
very little money available to vvork with.
Improvements were
being n:ade all the while just as fast as funds would permit.
Under Superintendent Vlildman teachers ins ti tu tions am e clucaticmal meetings were sta!tea., 16 only prescribed text books were
used, records were kept of district and county school meetings,
teacher standards gradually rais eel, and pl8..ns macle for e recting new building:::1.
Actual figures on pupils and teachers will
help in getting a further idea of conditions by the end of
1872, and the ir eceding years.
There were 60 teachers employed
in 55 schools, 52 of them in the 46 v1hite schools and. the other
in 9 colored schools.
This shovrn us that practically all of
Loudoun's schools as of th::i.t a.ate were one room affairs.
The
teachers were approximately tvm-thirds men, who received. the
unbelievably small sum salary of $33.29.
slightly lower ($28.18).
Women's salaries were
But hovv many pupils d.id these teachers
16. The first teachers institute was held at Leesburg in August,
1872 for interchange of views aul opinions. At the next
one held in January, 1873, 0.1rn. outside speaker was obtained..
- 14 -
have to teach?
The averat;e do.ily attendance totaled. 1615 pu-
pils or only 23% of the scnool popuJJ_;_ ti on of 6877.
Of these
~
6877 only 3210 or 46 1~0 were enrolled and. "by comps.rison we"that
one-half of the enrollment absente(l themselves most of the time .1 7
This rray have been all right for a st:: .rt, but vast improve1
ment was needed.
Funds, and they were scarce, were being
wasted by the pupils themselves or as often was the c: .se by their
:tarents. 18
These IXLrents neec1ed. to be educated to the neces-
sity of sending their child.ren to school instead oi' having
them out or keeping tbem at home to help v1ith the farm vrnrk •
. In the next few years Supe rin tend.ent Vfildman gives some
hints as to public opinion concerning schools in Loudoun in
his reports to State Superintendent
w.
H. Ruffner.
His 1873
reports say th:t the opposition that was so strong at first
is gradually subsiding and th, t private schools are d iminis hing.
Parallel with this trend people are patronizing
the public schools more generally.
The county people, how-
ever_, coulcl not reconcile the transfer of state funds to
other counties for educational purposes.
-
They suggestted the
simple and rr. tural remedy of a generul poll-tax to remove
tro.t evil and also to eq_ualize tbe burden of t!tXation.
We
know of course th.u.t such a tax when tried vrns rather unsatisft:.ctory although it is still in fo·rce.
This was, no
doubt, an effort on the part of property holders to force
non-property holding negroes to share in the burden of supporting tbe schools.
The next
ye~~r
I.Tr. Wildman thinks people
17. Vil"ginia School Report, 1872, µ.i. c;es 118 ,135.
18. Ibid. i:age 154. S~hool tax levy, i;age 415) total spent for
public education, $21,i55.95, total paid to teachers,$12,992.50.
- 15 -
are manifesting a disposition to cooperate more fully
with
school officers in developing anlcarrying out plans
for improving the character of the schools and in increasing their usefulness.
This crange in spirt
vK~s
acc_ompa-
neid by an increased willingness on the part of these folks
to contribute funds for school buildings and for extending
the length .of the school term.
6.98 months per ye<-r).
(In 1872, it had been only
Paralleled. by improvements .in the
teaching force, steady pr ogress was now being IDade, but
there always seemed. to be something to directly hinder advancement.
The civil rights bilJ passed at this time served
to slow up the new willingness to cooperate.
The Loudoun
people resented this measure and som::l even felt that such
hindrances of their freedom were directly opposed to their
interests.
Progress could not be made under these or other
molestations.
nevertheless, in these first few years of the
new school system numerous school houses had been erected.
They were well arranged, ventilated, convenient and subs tantial so t hJ t by 1874 the school board was hopeful of supplyi.ng the entire County wifu eood school houses.
Late1' on in
1874 the State Department of Education suggested dividing the
County school districts into sub-districts.
The natter was
duly broug?1t up and discussed by fue Cow1ty school beard, rut
they defeated the measure as they could find very fevr, if £illy
aclvant ages for them.
Sup er int endent Wildman reports in 1876
that m:.m.y iligher class citizens of fue County have become hostile to the free schools because they themselves derive no
direct benefit from the school tax.
This was a very selfish,
- 16 narrow-minded. a ttitlide and. one tba t should. not exist a.mo.thg
thinking people, but when people c:t su.ch notions it is very
hard to cli sl.odge them.
They simply turn s tl1bborn.
they even exercised. t l:e ir influence in exci tin:;-
In this ease
t1-~e
prejudices
of the ic;norant u..ncl· e11cour&seCJ. resistance to s.ny pro:r·essive
movemrnt.
This
eviclencer~
spirit h.c:.d
until by the time of this
:.·e~101·t
itself for several years
it hacl
about \'lorn itself out,
now , eJ::c ept i' or a few cases of an iraos it y, th L1g s
so that
v10rking vrl th a fair de.:::;ree of harmony and. p·ospe:dt;y.
·i'!
ere
People
ho.ve fin.8.lly come aroW1d to recognize th:: value of pu1Jlic schools.
I.n fact, the lJUblic schools, by t.Viis tirne, were iHUcticc.Jly
t~1.e
only institutions of lea.r.uing in opeYationo
THE FIRST :DEC.ADE IS
-s:::mn
The cl or: e of 1880 sav1 the school offic ic..ls in Loudoun
viev1in5 th c situation v: ery o :pt imis
t~cal J.y.
of s tni..ge;le, thin.::;s we re then d.efini te ly on the urgrecd.e.
ple of all classes both 'black c.nl white lL.d. begm1 to
c:;e~~cra~
apprecllite tl:1e advantages offered by puo=ic sc!J.ools.
one vras vrillinz and.
of tl1e r;c;ular term.
J>-.s·oo oo
.-.~ve '-,;'
0a.
I
0
illlxicu~:
?e oly
Bvc!'lr.,
to contri"'mte in e::::tendLig t11e
In just one 'J"e:..r (1379-1380) :pat:r·o11S
for the b uilcliri,s of a school house in
rt.
Gileud
District anl 0300.00 ·.ms contribtited in LeesbU:L·g J)istrict.
All
the .IEtrons seemed to be v.rillin.;- to sacrifice to kee}) tll6ir
children in sc!10ol.
In t'r1is the colm·ec"'c :populu.tio11 vra_ equal-
--
and. \·.'ere even mo:-celiberal in their
e;ifts in pro port ion to t'l1 eir mec.n s.
t::1e ed"c1ea7ion o:f tl:eir c11ild.:•en o..s
They :1avc cor:rn to rer·a1·d.
----
o:~ ut.>~ost
1
~
imports.nee and in
- 17 -
accordance with this belief they miss no opportunity to help.
Despite the· interest of tbe ir parents, the colored children
showed a tendecy to be lacking in industry and their moru.l
standard was at a very l av ebb.
Superintendent Wildman's report for 1880 shows tl-nt Loudoun had 85 te:.::,chers em9loyea. in 81 schools, as comr.arcd v:i th
60 in 55 schools eight years before.
Of these, 69 vrnre vrnrlcing
in 63 white schools and 16 we re in 18 negro schools, ana. we
see a larger proportion of men teachers.
In white schools there
were 49 men to 20 women and only one female negro teacher.19
Thus vrn observe the number of schools to be on the increase.
This would not seem
eS!)ecL:~lly
encouraging today, in the era of
consolidated schools, but back in 1880 conditions vJere some what different.
The means of transportation have been revolu-
tionized since t1E-t date, only 50 years ago.
Today we have
the pupils go to school in large fast trucks, but in 1880
before aut o-busses ard improved rural roads the schools themselves had to be scattered out within walking dist:.;.nce of tbe
pupils homes or they di a. not get to school ut all.
By this
inc reas ea. number of schools, education 1·ms made a vuila ble to
a correspondingly inc1·eased number of schoolable children, in
fact, over 1800 men pupils were now enrolled while the actual
school population vms only increased some 80o.20
The division
190 Virginia School Report, 1880, pace 30.
20. Ibid. page 17.
School Population in 1880.
white male
2908
colored male
1487
white femoJ.. e 2825
colored female
1459
Total
5733
Toral
~
Total female school population
4284
Total male school popul:_'.t ion
- 4395
=
Total school
popul~~tion
8657
- 18 -
the sexes of school age was almost equal among both the whites
and negroes, there b ei 11g a fevr more boys than girls.
The tolal
excess of .boys in both races t cgether was approximately one
hundred.
Of these children, 56.3 per cent of the v1hit e children
an:l 37.l per cent of the colored. children were enrolled in
school, but the daily attendance was only 33.l per cent and 21.2
per cent respectively.
That is 1200 more were enrolled and. 900
more genrrally attended c1asses regularly than eight years
earlier. 21
These low percentages don't appear at all favorable
at fir st glance, but similar and generally worse conditions
existed all over Virginia and tre South at this. time.
When tr.ie number of c:1ools in tle County is comµ::. red with
tbe number of teachec:s we at once perceive tl'JE;.t almost all of
those scattered schools had only one teacher, and one room.
This was necessitated by the rural conditions, but in several
tovn.1s graa_ed schools had been established, thus offering much
better advantages.
Vle have already dealt at some length vvi th
the Leesburg school, the e2~r1 iest of these. 22
By 1880 th ere were
five such schools, all modeled somei:rtat after the school_.in
Leesburg, enrolling a total of 590 pupils.
At Leesburg the
white graded school had five teachers, 187 pupils enrolled
anl 150 a ttena_ing regularly for a school term of ten months. 23
Thomas Vlillic~ms on w~ s their principa. l.
It is
q_ui te significmt,
trat the second 18.rgest t,Tadecl school in the County, also at
Leesburg, was for negro children.
n. s.
This mhool under principal
Payne enrolled llilpupils, with an average claily atten-
21. Ibido Page 27.
22. S\'ij?ra. page 15.
23. Virginia School Report, 1880, page 35.
- 19 -
dance of 74 for eight months.24
The term for negro schools in
Loudoun has alna;ys been slightly shorter than the white term.
From this we see tra t there is not only real interest in education among the colored people of Loudoun, but that the v:hite
folks a l."El also supportine; the negroes in their efforts to get
an education.
Tb.e s chooJ. board bas taken a great step forward
in prqvid.ing a graded school for the colored. chilclren, thus
offering tlm m educational advantages on a par \·1it h the white
chilclren of the County.
The other graded schools vrnre at
Lincoln, '~,'aterford. ar.d Hillsboro. 25
Again let us sto;;i and tr:... ce tlirough the history of one pc.rticular school as something of an example of r.:. graded school.
For i:;his I have s e1e cted the Purcellville school which remains
a graded school even today, but is one of the best in Loudouno
The first public school in Purcellville was estaolished in 1884.
Hr. Joseph 'Dillon gave the J.and, and a one room building which
resembled a box-car.
years.
This house was used for fourteen
Then in 1898 the school board erected tl:e first two
rooms of a nevr building several
a. oors
d O':m the same street.
The new lot v1as acquired by a trade of the old buildi1ig and
lot with I:r. 'Dillon for the nevi site &..nd one hundred dollars.
In this buildil.JG 2.n
ad.Jitio1~c-:.l
by a partition across one room.
rooE1 was firs:t rpovicled in 1903
This proved unsatisfactory
and an outside adclit ion of one room vms built in 1910.
The
24. Virginia School Report, 1880, paGe 35.
25. Ibid.
SciiOOI
Principal
Ifo. teachers enroll. Av. Atten. Term
Lincoln ••• J.s. Wilson ••...•..•• 2 •.....•.• 106 •..••.•• 69 ••.•.. 5 mo.
7laterfordoLucius Hardy ••.•....• 2 •...••... 105 ••..•. , .79 •..•.• 7 mo.
B:illsboro.George Shov1er ••.•.• o .2., •••.•.••• Bl •••••• " .Z7 •••••• 7 mo.
- 20 -
fourth teacher was accomodB,ted by the use of the Old Gaver
cottage on the Bush lieetinc; erounds (the adjoining proport~r)
for one or two years and. then the fo1J.rth room vvas "built in
1917. 26
The efforts to get the present new building covered a
period of several years.
was purchased from J
.s.
The site of five and one-half acres
Dillon for $2500 upon the rec o:nrnenda-
tion of a special committeeo
of this amount.
The town contributed $750.00
The funds for the 'building vrere secured by
a loan aut.Viorized by a Special Act of the General Assembly which
was approved in :March, 1922.
The actual co st of the 1mild}_ t:ic; as
contracted for by tlle school bee.rd vJ.~-.s $18,652.50. 27
The to·wn
authorities cooperated commendably with the school authorities
in tl1a t they 01:en ea. a street at the north side of the lot and
built a walk along this and the street leading north from the
school pro:rierty.
The school he.s d.1ov1rn a steady and rapid growth with only
a few lx.:.cl::. slides.
It v:as a cne teacll.er school frou 139:1: to
1910, excei:;t in 1902-03 wha.11 there were
1910 to 1916 it again was a t
~1ree
tm~ee
teachers.
During
teacher school, a four teacher
school from 1916 to 1923 anQ at least a five teacher school
since then. 28
At present there are seven teachers c.nd a new au-
di t oriwn has been erected within t lm last year.
:Parallel to the e;rowth of schools anl the increased school
260 Historical Sketch of Purcellville School, page 1.
27 • lliilo );E.ge 2 o
2 8 • Ibid • JU Ge s 3 , 4 , a rd 5 •
- 21 -
enrollment, was the growth of school expenditures.
1-'lhereas a
total of ~21,455.95 was spent for school purposes in 1872, the
ye~J.r 1880 saw the amount increased to $28 ,646.16.
Of this sum
CB,990040 nas received from the state, $12,513.17 from County
fund.s, ~3 ,536050 from District funds and. $10 ,381. 71 was left
over from the yec.r before.
Teachc~c'S
received. a f!lajor portion
of this money, a sum of $18,331.85 or an averaze of sliclltly
over $30.00 per month.
Nea;:iJ..y tis,000.00 vras s:pent on buila.ines.
29
Sor::i.e authorities tell us thc.t the work of the SUIJerintendent, or the amount of supervision in a particular 1ocality is a
ver-cJ good index to the quality of
tern.
th;~t
localities chool sys-
Back in 1870, the super in tend en t was officially em:ployo;i
101 days during v1hich time he traveled. 350 miles, wrote
100 letters, licensed 60
te~chers,
and made 64 visits to schools.
In 1880 we see him {Mr. Wildman vras still in office) officially
employed longer and doing much more work.
He was now hired
for 160 days, traveled. 500 miles, Hrote 200 letters, lie ens ea. 92 teachers, nude 119 visits to scho,ls (omitting none)
and attended fourteen school board meetine;s.30
11. comparison of
these figures, also, seem to inclicc:te that this first decade
of public school in Loudoun v;as a successful one.
Progress was
being naa.e and the schools now appeared to be a perr:1anent rart
of the County government8.l functions.
Heat·wole seems to think
thl.t by. this tjme the real critical period for the public schools
was p3.st.
For a number of yeLrs people all over Virginia opposed
29. Virginia School Report, 1880, uage 41.
30 o Ibido page 83. His salary of ~520 .OO came wholly from state
fw1d.s as the County apparently thought it unwise to S!Jend
its money on supervision.
- 22 -
public schools on the ground t1nt education for all was not a
function of the government.
view
th~·
Instead they held to the ancient
t su.ch training c:.:·,rre. within the scope of the home as an
indi v idu.al res1)onsi bili ty.
These .people must feel that the pu-
blic schools of 1937 have totally surplantea. the home and its
fnncti ons.
These enemies of the public school sy
~item
met State
Superintendent of Public Ir.s truction Ruffner ar.d his SUDporters
in a
n show
dormn in the election of 1879.
Very happily for
succeeding generations Superintend.ent Ruffner came out victorious
as the people sent a majority of the legisL,t ion to Richmond
pledged to save tl1e school system for which the;y bad vmrlrncl. so
he.rd and fu.i thfully.
The first decade of public schools in Loudoun was now em ed
and with it Superintendent John
off ice.
Yr.
Wildman ended his terra of
In t..11.is -·oeriocl from 1871 to 1880 he he,d been the cru.id~
ing spirit for education in Loudoun County and to him is due
in a large measure the credit for o.ny success that was achieved
dm"ing this fir;"t ten ye,,rs.
His wa:; the mo2 t difficult job
of getti1ig t 11e vrhole thing start ea., of fight in3 adverse :pubJic
opinion, raising funds and so li citing pu.blic c ooperst ion.
This
wo..s a tremendous assignnent, but as the records show he acq_uitted himself well.
Re turned in a good piece of work, starting
from "scratchn to build a school system at a time \vhen economic~ana.
financial conditions were very poor and pussing over
to his successor a system on c. par 'Ni th the best in Virginia.
To him Loudoun ovres a debt of deep gratitude for a school systern vrnll sk',rtea., a ::;ood fo undc:~ ti on, a start on the highway to
really eood schools.
His spir.it has been carried on, and today
it hs.s developed into a very efficient organ of the school system. 31
31. Heatwole
o·
' ' il •
i +.. page 225.
(1,.;:::->'-
- 23 -
lfr. L. I.T. Shumate 32 followed Er. Hild.man as superin-
teno.ent i.n 1881 o.nd. held. t}ie o
~fie
e i' or only t\-10 ;1c ars.
:qowever, he cc.nB l:B.cL lliter to be Su:perinte:.1d.ent
this time from
of office,
~~r.
1~86
to l'JOC).
Gic\.;}_in~;s,
'.·:. G.
Between Ur. Shu11KLte two terrns
c,n ex-headmaster of t:-:.c old
Leesbnrg .L:..cacl.eL!.;f, nas in cr.1.sr 5e.
Erner ick
!£~
. .
s hcl Ci. t:i<:::
EJOS ltlOll.
a~ain,
From 1909 to 1917,
~~r.
\'.'.
33
Up to this tir:1e all the )Ublic school i,-.:ork in Louo.oun
vr s in the: ele:-,1entary
~~·re.des.
had supplemented }Ju1;lic
:?ri vate schc)ols ~.. nd. tutors
elementar~r
stuccies on t11e hic::;h school level.
schools end :.C'urnished
The civil v1-u.r e::te:cmi-
nu,t ed mo st o:f these 2c:11 ools so thr t by 1880 vrn fina. only
about 200 students erlllCc.-'-ed. by private institutions.
Of
these ne find. 55 boys o. r.J. 105 girls we Te ;iupils in private
elernent<:~17
sen oolf' s.n Cl 31 l:n ys
hi5h schools • 34
diec1 out
This J_ert on L1-nfilJ_ecl :S'J.p in the eo.ucu-
::os t of the mor: able citizens seLt t11 e ir
child.ren s.·-.:ar to scl1001s
locally.
23 ::-_:i rls in :private
By 1384 ,Private schools in Loudoun ha(l
e;_1ti1~el~r.
tional s;T- tem..
:cl.Eel
tJ.1~.t
offere:J_ bo t.YJ. hi[;h school c.'.nd
J-;.s a result some 0:7.: the teachers ir:. t11e elementary
schools be::::,un to offer hic;J.1 s c.Yiocl nor:c in
or even
a.n.riE~;
..L...
•,,118
•
ir s l_JO.re
..L.
1_,
i
me
school fiours as \-;us citecl 2."bove in :c-ei'erence
to t:i e Le esi:rn1·5 school.
Suei.'-1 ins ti·uc ti on v1as s-'u rone;ly op:posecl
by muzy :pstrons 'iiho insisted th?.t t!1e c!.ivision of the teachers
32. :rro Shumate \'las tl1e grec.t great uncle of the author of this
memogra:ph.
330 Sa1iders, Llli1ce''ord ancl Fenton, op.cit. p. 14.
34. Vir~inia School Renert 1380, page ob
'. !
- 24 nor~cecl
time and. attention
classes of pupils.
te~
a serious injustice to bot::i
:Z1e::1entary pupils vrnre neglected. by
cl1B rs in order to s 1e1d some time in hi_::sh school ins true-
tion but t:his die'_ not o..llo:r the element ·.ry stuilerrus to <lo
tln ir vmrk well.
T!1us
the
two school siuc.ents did. hu}f-
hearted work anl neither rms e.ccomplisl-_ ing
,,,·}i:;.
/
1
t it should.
~-.1 ~--L-~
Yet the nunber of such high school 1m9:'..ls were increasin5
st ea.d.ily •.
Beginnins vii. tl1 180 s ti..xly ing in
hi::~.'1'1er
1:iranci1e s
in 1081, t::-ie numb er sre··,· ix> 398 in 1832, 479 plus 35 colored
in 1383 c.ni 431 plus 38 iu 1,384.
The nwr.ber dieclinecl to
59 white and 57 colo1•ec1 :'n 1385 out leti.::·eJ. lie.ck to 300 in
1886 and reElained between 250
[;.Del
300 w1til 1J07. 35
Unq_ues-
tionably there \vas a neeJ. i'or hit;h schcols in Loudoun llut no
pulllic free high school:; were estf:,blishcd. nntil tl1e }Je:C'iod
1900-1910.
State
Superinten~ent
over the state
L>• .:.1d
0.• 1
Ruffner recognizea this need all
e see him advoc: tins tlierrint:c•oduction
into :;, nbJ.i c free schools in his fifteent J.1 Lnnual Rei; ort. 36
1
He roses his a1•gument on the fact that clurinJ' the yes.r, 9,500
or 4 per cent of the total school
studyi115 in higher
b1·~u1ches
popul~tion
v1ere then
tnron.::;hout the stc;.te.
.i\.t t1tat
time since Virginia. cities, besicles c.:.numller of oti1er larger
towns, had such hich scho_lso
the s ch.ool desc1·ibed o.oove.
Lees"'curg bad one of
t~1ese
in
Supe rintenclent Rufi'ner u.dvocated
weJ.l eq_uiped. distinct hi3;h schooJ.s.
In T"nese _competent high
school teac11ers could. be em_::.;loyed m1a.. no injustice· Hould be
deine the
element,~ry
::;rad.es
i.vl:1
i1e h:i.gh school pupils
0,70
35. Virginia School ReDort.
360 Vir';infa Sc~'lool Report, l.J8.5 - ?srt II, pp. 61-62.
uld
- 25 -
receive infinitely better ins tru_cti on.
S imilm" hi&n schools
could also be p1· ovidec;_ for necro children whei'"'e the poyulation merited but in all cases 2.ll pupils must be properly
c,ualified before entrance.
A sl'ecial tax could be levied
fort~1
to support these ua.r:itional schools for, as set
in the
Kalamazoo Case (1870) the GOVe1·nment 11.as tl-ie pov:er to levy
-.-"k
. -/
taxes for high schools.
\
The arrival of the ye c:.r 1890 fo unc1. t ::::e t'.·ren ty year old.
Loudoun County school systeP1 r,ro:::;ressin.::; stear'ily alt!1ou.gh
not s
e~ati
ona llyo
No w:1usually ra9id steps hr.d lleen i:B.k.en,
b1J.t under Superintenlsnt Shumate tbey vrnre f'orGing ahead
continlli'llly, t;rying to m;.ke such jmprovemeuts as
alJle \'lith the funds
wer0
se::i.•io·~csly
v
~·
r:ere
c'-ars , they
~
handicapped by the shorta:::e of :Zuncl.s, especial-
ly for employin:::- better
d.i ti ons.
As in previous
.va.ilable.
t~1ey
.l...
u
.,
.,
eG. C!le rs ::. nu
•
i
•
,
~·'>·
'/·
Tv10 Ci sJcric ts in :;::iarticnls.r need· more
ne·:: ·buila_ings
211Cl
t'.;m_poro.rily.
}'fore mone;y r;o uld.
the services of
•
rnprov ing .nous ing confunCl.s :Lor
extend.in::; the len:::;th of the school term.
h~~ ve
nell-trc~ined Lnd.
me.de it possible to get
ex!_)e::'.'ienced inst:,'uctors.
while ';:omen tec~ci:1e:rs ::.:ala·-,ies onl.;y :::.verar"ed ~28.46 per month.
There weIB 116 of i:hese te'..•-chers, 85 'Jei1J::;;white and 31 negro.
'l1he
sexes ner:-: a 1-::o ut e :l nal.l? clivid ea. ( 43to42)
u.rnc:iJg
the '°Ll it e
teo.c11e:.'S 'but thene were 21 co lore ct. r:ien to 10 colored. v; omen. 3 7
37. Virginia School Report, 1890, p. 9o
- 26 -
The school houses in the County now nunbe:::.·ed 92 of r1hich
5 vrere brick, 69 fraDe, 5 log a...n.a. 13 stone.
on~y
lfot
lLd.
t:10 nun1'bel.' o±: school hou_ses increase<l but since there 1:Iere
noi7 112 rccms, i:re see: t?mt tho .1:rn.n1be:;_' of
w:_:.s inc re8,sed o 38
rT:~.d·.;Cl
schools
l?racticc::.1ly all of t1:1ese sc!10ols rrers lo-
-cated on suitable grounds, r1hich L'.Vcrage 0.9 acres in size,
and vrere eq_uiped rrith =.,·ood furniture s.ncl outhouses.
1hs-
t::.."'icts ovmect $56,239.00 vrorth of -this schocl Dro1;erty Yihich
includ.ec1 80 pCl" cont of th<J school housesa
school houses
»'I~1ites
':1:~d
1:,
sen.tin~;
Ct::.)Lcity
'ihe CountyTs 92
of 5,090, 3,800 :for
a:riil 1290 for colored c11ild.ren 1·:i1i}_e
t~1ere
v.'ere 5,184
of room,
:for onl3r 68 :per cent of the wili te cJ.1i}c'.1cren c.:.;:cl 52 ·ce:--
cent
of t:1e colo1•ecl nere ::-Lro}_lci in scl1ool, i.e. 36J3 of tl1ern
ce:r:.t of the
25
~--81.,
to-+:::.~l
eLl'O~J_uent,
ce11t o'!: t"'·1e 25
!)8r
cs;:1t,
33 IJCr cent of
v::-
t'.1e
t~w ·1·J'~ite
e:clo~~1 ocl
cG.:.-:~c
and.
to school
t;Q
7 o 72 r'1.on tl1s • .:.;.;
LC. de
•
ps . ce
... .. ,...;
,;_J_
_,_ ",....
u _..:..
- 27 -
,._ to ts.l o :-·
such conditicns.
s )e11t in 'chis
for school lJUrposes, or 0111~" ~)11,GOO.OO mo1'c tliu.11 ten years
,:J e f
LLQ
01"' G. -
'::'.:ven norr +he supe :cin-'c e1c. ent rec- e :~v e:: cnl~r ~500 .OO for
1·1o:ck~or
his years
employe
'c~:.e
ratl1ei-·
175
Cl<-~ys
~:h·
t he 1: 1 ~~s o''fic ially
~-•
ters, licensed. 177 te<.: .cJ:ers o..n1 rracle 123 visits to schools. S:l
1
By the tu·n o:i: "cl1G century the iJU'bi.ic sc11ool s,y:. . tcrn
wc~s
in v e17 s crious need o:::· a big r::vi val.
cec.~serJ..
to improve e.rn1 v;ere nor: : t
sliding in so::,10 res ects.
no better
,c~r.n
~J
~c
stc.;.nd. still <;.n:1 even bs.. ck
Such a state of
aff~irs
VIas truly
r.rs ocfo:ce r1hen free s c:C1ools vre1·e f'i:cst
~ett~11~ t::'~29 • 07 • 42
,,_...
rnon tll s.ncl
8.
Condit ions ho.d
,_.JlG
0
...i..
"""":_J
'r ods.y
t~'l e ;y
llE:. v e
shorter, (0.7 n:onths) Q2,0JO.OO less rnone,:;- ·::c::.s c.v~.i'2.c.;.1)J.e
fo1"' s cl1ool ::_.:Ul'poses c.nd. o.n e q_uul decrease \»-as seen in the
anounts S)ent :Lor tsLcl1e i·s salaries.
superintenlent's sc:.12.ry
'.78.S
less, the en:collment C..EO. o...tten-
cliiion2.l schoc:l bLlilcti1:-cs nerc erected. in t:1is dec2.cte.
40. Ibid., p. 260
41. Vir2iniu School R:nort, 1900, p. 12.
42 ~
p. 30
0
0
'
0
I:ou-
- 28 -
doun had not only ceased to keer ff'.. ce 1:1i th e. dv<.d1ceo in
other parts of the country btJ_t nov: t:1inc;s :w.cL cows to a
pri:-...ctica1 stand still.
Even to siw:: t}JE,t LoudOLlll l\:Cnked
v1ell in Virginia was no boastir15 matter for Virginie. '.'!as
ne<.-:.r the "bottom of
t~ie
list of states in t:ie United States
in regard to ec1uec.ti on.
The real cause for tll.is lo.s:in:; behind i1i a pl' oj e ct so
:PerhC;.pS it vn-...s a lull in in-
vrell started. is l10.1'd. to fi::d.
terest or due to :.ess able leadership •
..::..slate as 1905 vre
fincl tru-,. t Jeffers(.n ])is ti'i ct report Gel a a.e~ic it of ~258 .40
clue to tl1e necess i t~r of renting a room 2nd O)ening school
the re to relieve con_':' es ticn. 43
Trro years late :c tl~e saDe
d.is t1·ic t aso..in repo1'ted an ilis uff ici ency of fm1d.s f
ti1'~g
its schools.
Terms were haveing to be shc:c' teneG. s..rii
tc·Jhers s<.;,lr. :cies reduced.
board
thi'eatei~ecl
At ti1is tir1e the entire district
to resign.
Then too, tl:ie very set-up of
J.istrict schools may hc. .ve been the basic trouble.
rate, since t:1e
ope::::a-
01'
count~r
sc:1001
s.sr~temwc:.s
J.. t any
mctde one unit in-
stead of seven in 1922 r:mc:;,1 nore ra.:_)icl strides have been
uad.e.
The o.istrict boards hired tlJB te2,c·JDrs aicd
actual~y
did most of t::1e work of conductL:ig schools, while ti-:e County
bas.rd in Leesburc met o::ly twice a year and. hc.U. but little
to do ni th
ac~~mJ
administration.
ciple job vms to 118.nclls money.
lev~r
The CoLmt .v "boa rcls <1rin-
S::he~r
~-
fixe · the s c11ocl tax
for count;:,r and. 6.istricts, coord.ine.tea.. snd. regu1atea.
the clistricts and served
[LS
a. cor...necting link between the
43. Hinut es of the Cow1t y School Boa rd., 1898-1919, p. 36.
- 29 -
districts and. the state organization.
';!hen the new con-
stitution for Virginia ws.s bein::; cliscussed. c.t the :;cgL,ning
of the c entrn:y
tilt:::
CO'J.nty school board proposed.
chan;~~ing
the minimum school a:e to seven instead. of' five an:l the
minimum age for :iccnsing
eichteen.
tc::.ch~:rs
to twe11ty instead. of
44
The County Board bad fixed tl--ie : : c hool t8..x 1ev~r at lOsi
on t.h.e 0100 property value fo1· the County and. districts
for sor'le years.
This gave the o-'fici2. ls very litt2-e to vJOrk
nith, ..na. inadeq_uo..cy.
In 1904 then
VjS,s
an effo;:et
FD.cl8
to
rc.ise the Co,_mty levy to 12-~¢, out d.ue to the lacl: of e.c"uo-
rum at the bmrcl r:1eetin··
dis t:2icts st ill :i.J.a d
2.
t~1e
action did not ps.ss.
10¢' le-v-y e:x:cep t Leesbu1·5 Tonn District
nhich ho.a. one of 17jl' ana.. 3rcad. Ru_r1
on a .""1'°100.00. 45
L.ll t.rie
levies a 15sz' tax
11hich
In 1907 Jefferson District raisecl its
lev~r
to i2;-si :n:l theil to 20>f in 1909. 4 6
The fie;11t in Loudoun from the ver·;;r
begL~1iing
l1a ve been in obtain ins mone ~r f o:::.."' schools •
seerns to
By 1911 the Caunty
levy \78,s s UlJlJlemented by 201" levies in all t?ie Cl.is tri cts
e:;:ceyt :rercer which l:lad 17}~
e,,. r:d
Lees1:mrg County ilis t1"ict
Progres:::ively increasing sums 'vVei."e beins raisecl and nevl interes ts seem. to ill ve been avmkenea_.
TIIE HIGH SCHCOL ERA
School conditions beg,111 to improve rapio.ly in Loudoun
44. Ibicl o p. 21.
45 o Ibid.. p. 35.
46. Ibicl., pp. 40 and 52.
- 30 -
County after
1~;05.
The st2. te novJ hacl e. ne a const i tu.ti on
1
ar.d with it improvecl school laws.
It was at this time of
renevrncl interest tliat tlle general public feeling bee;an to
cent er around hi2h s d1 ools uncl hie;11 school ecluca ti on.
".During
the 1907-1908 school term we find there were t11:ree four year
high schools beinc 01)e1•ated :Ln the County.
The hizh school
department in the Leesburg free school en rolle a. 2 7 pupils.
The other two high schools ·.:ere in Je:Cferson and Et. Gilead
Tiistricts, each enrolling acout 3J pu)ils.
These schools
received 0900000 from the state high school fund.
In the
:follovrL n::; year t·;m tvro yec.r hi;'h schools werG e stab1ished.,
one in Jeffers on and. one in !forcer Tiis trict.
Imme<li;.~.
buildin_s plu.ns vrnre becun for t::1e ne·:r hich schocls.
saw ten seres of :1Lno.
1Jo\:,··~1t
tely
1909
c.t Lincoln (l:It. Gilee.o. ]istrict)
on vrhich ::en eigl1t room structure wc.s erected 2.t a cost of
c:~s
-rrell c.s some ~L.1:,000.00 in elementfary school ouild.in5c
at ~tcola and Lo~ettsville. 47
l~ost
logically,
e::::rJendi ti.n'es.
rece~_ved
interest brou._::·l1t increased
As cornpu.r ed. with C37 ,000 .oo spent on schools
in 1900, :j.J3,668.67 v:as srent in 1910 q_uite an increa2e, 1rn.t
a r;mch needed i:icres.se.
This money en.me from state, county
anl clist1'ic"'.; funds in rJ_most eg_u2.l sv!om1ts~
~35,413038 v1as
used f 01~ teti.chs rs salsries, c. ~10 ,000 inc rsase over 190J 48
0
".7ith more money to a.rs.vr oetter teachers arrl a new build_i: g
1
pr o:;ra.m
und:~r
vray,
thin~s
we::ce un .:.uest iona b1y get tine better.
4:.7. Virginia School Report, 1910, p. 17 6.
48. ~., p. 99.
- 31 -
At this date, (1910) t:'rle total school rioyul:.tion w~~s
5,630 in Loudoun Coun"bJ, 3,940 o:C' these vrere white and 1690
vrere nec;1•0.
','1~1ite Lnd.
From this n:;m1)er 4159 (3132
1027 co-
lored) were enrollee~ with some one of the 118 teachers, but
onl~r
2 49 0 ·were in rcverage do,j_ly
~.O
atte~idar:.ce.-"'
~re'.:-.r
novr 91 school hOLrnes, 3 112.villG ber:n lJuil t c1.u1'illS t:1e
a ~1; a cos ~u
~
O.L
y~20 , 86~o. 00 •
lrost of these (73) rre::c"e frc.me
buila_in0s, but 16 were brick or stone.
O;·e-roorn schocls rr.ad.e
up 68 of them, v1hile fourteen h.sd two er more rooms
1mc1
1:~11a.
three or more rooms me.kin;- a to to.l of 138 roor;1s
85 of the
toeetlle r, with a s e2. tins carmci ty of 40 70.
ir::;s we1·e onned b;- districts c.na. valuecl s.t ~3,850.00.
anl pa tent des ks.
T:r19re
1
i
9
11
,
•
..,
""!
:1.:.. 2. _;_ (J_ -
'l~ec.r-
:e1·e no wagon$ or true ks us eel at
this date to haul ch:i_lclren to scD.001.50
The next year saw more la nc1 purcl1a.sed and ne1.r schools
built.
Deeds ,.,ere recorded in 1911 i'or
P..onnd. Hill, Lovettsvil::'..e
·were to be erectea..51
c:i:
ope rt~,- st _.·:..shbu::: n,
)l'
d I,:id4 leburg on which hi~·h c-;chcols
$12,000.00 was s~1e21t thrt ye::;..r in
erecting the new· seven-room stone hi::;h sch,;ol 1:;u_ildinc E'.t
P.ound. Hill, ~5,000.00
vms ::.;rent
at IIiS.d.le1rni,·'-~11 2.rxl 2.dclitions
''
vrnre r::r.de at Llcli e and I'urcell ville.
The .-;a to::..'fc :t.>d u.ni Lin-
coln schools also l:ad ir:1prover:1c11ts r111le
school property '\W.s
L.C(~uirecl
1
il1
S2:_\'l
"JuriEg these yeu.rs
0199,839002 usse.l for LcuC:.oun scho ls.
490 Ibid., p. 132.
::ore hich
at :l>sesturg (1914), Unison-
Eloor:1fielcl (1915) L:..nG. Hillsboro (1917) .52
1920
t~J.eF:o
500 JJu..Q.., p. 199.
51. Ibido
52. V~inia School R~nort, 1920, p. 103.
Thii:: r:u.u is
-
32 -
3-;} times or 372 per cent rnore than ec1-uco.ti on hl.d. cost o.:.1ly
ten years before.53
The business ·of mr..na5ing
1
a.oun hao.
were built, more
mo1•e
beccme
~teno.ily
tec~u1ic:l
~oney
~.nd.
t..
usccl, tlLe vl'ilole sitr,ation became
sch~)ols
be more efficient t::12.n the
-· ,- -·
w -·
<... -
:1::.cger job, as mors schools
Di~;
:;:or the r;ntire cotmty rroula.
tL2c t sy:;ter'.1S so on led to
Other counties neanwhile h<:.d also come to t'l:le
in all
~--~
t:1e counties in Virginia.
lJr ornptness of ";.cti on.
Ths act becar.G.e effective Sept-
~;till
eri1ber first 1922 and is
passe~3.
trc::stees
clis~;rj_ct
This ree.lizr,tion cou9led with t!.1e feel-
ine; thut one system of
-;
public scl1o:·ls in Lou-
nor··e,nd morn of the
tine was taken up.
action.
~;he
In t
~
in use.
The result was sim-
ss.me year U1e L.ssenbl;y aJ.so
a bill p1•ovid.i::1c· for com::;m2.sory school t.ttendt:.:.nce
in school,
~L·i cmothe~
:for ti1e s.d.option o..nd distribution
of t ext b o o ks o .5 4
Here again some c OE1pc.rj_sons will
t
~13
successes of
t~1e
ne~-i
~1elD
W1i tG.ry plLn.
pr·sons for the decua.e 1915 to 1925055
ill SXJluining
Let us m. ke comIn t:1is
eriod
the amount of school funds increased 235 per ce.::1t but this
does not indicate a
correspo~ding
increase in expenaitures
53. Virgini~ School Re~ort, 1920, p. 105.
54. Virginia Sc~col Re~o~t,,1920, pp. 26-27.
55. For t~ble of fi5ures see ~~9en1ix IIIo
- 33 -
availu ble
fOl"
school :purposes.
The sreo.. t clec:rease in the buying p ovv er of t-je Clo ll.-. r
in t.'1 is .Pe l'i o d,
2~1 C'!.' ~> ::..
one;::; , t"'.1c. t
t
of
ex~, c::r;.
cl. itur es 1.vhi c?1 ne -
school funi1.s iri 1915
vro,,ld like-ai-::e require uos t of th2 funrls avc..ila !Jle in
clle rs 112. a. increc..sec!. s
s :~me ten ye r 11eriod,
li~;',tl;y
but
ovc: r 100 p -r cent clurinz this
8.gt:~in
th is clo es not
me~U1
a cor-
i·es9on6..i11:.._5 i113rco..se in the· ei'ficicEc:~r of teacllc~~s.56
TJ:1e stt.;.nd.ard of te:·
c~18}'S
ht:.d been rti.2-sed
Te0.cllers ares till not reccivin:: s.dc-:1.uate
l~ll
clc e Loudoun 21cu1a.
hc~ve
~:'-'Y
consia_crabl~r
:.:1d r.oc:ve
sood. instructoi·s :i_n its schools.
It is v e xy ci·a tifying to note
th::.~ t
Ll.J_ thous;h the total
school popu.lation 11::,d increc.sc.;Q but 119 pe1· cent since 1916,
t~1e
tot<il nw:1b.er of
being 89 1J8r cent
o:~
~~upils
enroJled hc.d t;;rovm 263
rJy 1925.
t:1e enrollmcn t or an inc1•ease of 430
or 14.3 ;er cent since 1915. 57
The c::cl:ool popul tion under-
vrent li-:tJ.e inci•cc,3e over t:1e decade, but tl1e iml!l"OVcrnsnts
in en 1"ollemnt
~'lld atternh~nce
go..ve Loudoun peo)le hoge.
Some
of this ms..y be attributable to the new c:nd improved. comrmlsor:,r u.ttendc:nce lo.n of 1022.
~ .. ttendc;.nce
had o..lr1uys been a
serious school problera fer school officials since parent
56. Dick Md. Heaton,
57. ill..Q..
. o 9. c i• 4-w.
p. 81 •
- 34 -
L.mong the Loudou..ri
h.Lt_}J.
;:;;
choc;ls especially htHl note
rro:rthy gains "bsen FB.0..e both as to '-lw::,lity a1J.d q_LIBntit;y-.,
In 19:'5 t:1ere were nine lli0h schools as
in 1925 ani [,11
-~:::
er_<;
c.recl
1
.'i t:1 ten
ese h:,a_ increase(_ t:1e ir enrollment.
Only three hi(;h scho ls were c.ccred.ited in 1915 nhile
there r:ere nine accrec. it eel 1 1izh schools in 1925, one ac-
,-.na.
c:i."edited. junior hij.1. scl1ocl
only one non-c..ccrea.ited
schooi. 58
L.1011[:;
'.".Tith his effo:·:-ts to nuke J,oudoun schools mo1•e
efficient Superinta.YJ.dent Emerick introduced
;::;,n:l
consolidation ass, coe.l.
The adva:1tages of
corn::olicl~:.tion
are nunero us
i11c;.
hl1~1
far
re~.ch
set uy
The merger of a munly r of
necesso.rily ineffecien t one room schools into c.. consoJ.id.c;.tecl sc:10ol un:lcr one hee.d t.e::-ldf: to red1lCe relative e:x:Lt
chilC.:ren ere
l~r3er
tl;~r
t~rn
s arr1.e time
ir:iprovGc;_ educo.tio11aJ_
of.fer
aa.v~.ntc.ges.
The
school has better teachers, offers better socisl
advantac;es
r:.1~d
r;ives mo:c>e c.!.nd better eq_u.irmi.ent.
T:C;e f u.:."r'.lation of
la:i.~ger
class es permits each class
::.~nd
ea.c:1 ;iupil to receive E10re thorough attention than in
ti12
era of
t~~e
011e-1"oom school.
3ac'1 tec.cl1er is more of a
s i'B ciali st in his field an6. is better e q_niped for ins 7 ruetion in t?1::-,t fieJ.cl.
Suc:!J. im1n•oved
adv~.11ta0es
encourage
better o.tte11da1:ce and nr;.ke 9oss ible a longer term.
Lou-
doun.County, howevsr, is not icle'l1J situ.,'.°'.:;e(J. for conso-
58. Ibid., p. 69.
- 35 -
~11tire
high school serves the
cou.nty.
The population here
is found widely sc:J. tte red on farms so that children would.
h2. ve to trc\.vel entirel~{ too far to school.
considerable
i1rogres~:;
.Lveve:etheless,
1rrJ.s been rrud.e ulons this line since
tho adoption of t'.1e count;ir unit Dlan in 1922.
l'iumerous
smalJ_ schools lic:.ve been clcsecl and in each case it 1K,,s been
Mr. :Emerick's policy to replace th: t school by a
to take those
c~1ildl.~cn
to a ls.rger ana.
bet~.er
Several hic;h Gchools l:c. ve even been closed.
me11t h:_,,s been small.
~
bus
school.
V!hc1"0
t~1e
enrol' -
Toc.D.y there are only seve:1 fc ur-ye:. ·
1
high schools in the County
~·
nd
ne:·~t
School 1'lil2- be clos ea. and. re.placed
ye 8.r Lucke tts :'.:Ugh
o~,r c,
bus to t:1e Leesburg
Q,ui te fittingly for an agricultural count;).r like Loudoun the hi&..:. school
Ett
Sr:1i t'h-Eu:;:ies 1.. ct an.C. s
of ::.,·ood. vro1 k.
1
Li11coln has f~n azricultural cle)a:, t-
L~c~e
1
t:Ja t date has done a large G.r:1ount
.:;.. r1e:1 t1"ainecl agriculture instruc-'.::.or is embo~'S
}110;:,red re:;u1:::.rl;:,r.
In 1924-25 there nere eleven
or
one-fourth of fu e
b o,"'S in the school enrolled Li 70C8. ti onal
LookiES at t?rn ne'.3:ro situs.tion He find t}1at ti:ie negro
school lJCJ:pulation :Rs C\.ec'c'easea. by 226 pupils or 13.41
cent since 1915.
~ier
This decrease DE<' be 2.ttributable to the
be less, out on t':ie cont:cc;,,r;y 1.loth thr? Ylezro school enroll-
--
59. Ibid. p. 72.
- 36 -
ment and daily attendance had inc re as ed..
Their school
term hG.d also been increased .fror,1 125 to 138 days c,ncl three
more negro schools
of the dece.d.e.
~;rare
in 01)er t:Lon tl'nn
t:1e 1Jegi.J:min5
i::~t
At the begin...'1ill5 of the decade, there vrnre
22 one-room schools, two tno-roo1'1 schools o.nd tl1c ne5ro
high school in I,eesbarg c:.11 of which ·;:e:."'r' increused in ef:'.:'iciency through 1rntte1' teo..chers.60
Consolidation and j_mlJrovements in schools 11= d mc:.a.e the
})Ul)lic schools more
E~n<l
for co·r·munity 1neJ.fare.
mo:re the cor:muni ty center o.ml ; ni te
Cormmnity lea3v.es he.VG been
f os terinc c:, s ~Ji rit of coo:;)· ro. ti on c:.r.:.c ng 11c.. trons
t ov-rJ.rd various c:::.ims.
Such l
~K'.5ues
s~'rw1g
had
Virginio.., s,nd Loua.om1, to t!.1G crccli t cf
first in
practicall~r
evor~r
it~
estc~blishecl
~:.J.ld wc~'.'kinc
ui; 1;..,lJ. over
peo:;J:e st::icc1
item relative to t:1ese J_e; gu.es
Loudoun he.a.. -::he gre:-.te0t num1Jer of ""'esc;ues (60), ~~he _zrec,test
.=;1' e:.::. test :num.-
nmube :r
ber of leo..c;tJ.es l~ayin:::~ dues (39), t~1e c1'ei:.tc2t rnmber of
(43), for better re.ads (35), ::.·or bett.er a:.:;1·:·cultln"'e (43),
for im1n·oved mor<:.:.l :.;,.nd. civic concli ti oi~s (44), for better so...... e,..;,,
C "'inl'
n· 1
<..,..,l.i..
a.
ren-•'":;-o+~o'""'"'l
v..!.. t;;;.c,...., u..L
J.J.;..o..
.o,,c~"'1~.L.ies
J......._...,
-....L..L u--
(<1')) t'ne
..._,
........
in les.cues (1,751) ur::.a. the l8.rg2st nu:;1oer os
su"bscri~:tions
tlJ.G c.mow1t of r,10ne.r rs.ise·::. fo:::.· 'oc:.:.:.l iL12·:.~ovcrients (~~12,444.13)
io..raons ti1e !'lost active lea;:_:ues ir t:1c
ford ~nd Leesbur:;. 61
ro o T'oi
.~
.
77.
0
~.·, .P•
v.
1
61.
ili!:1.. , :p.
80.
ccw1t~r
are :Lincoln, ·::G.ter-
- 37 -
TODJ;.Y 11.lJD TOHORROW
-r
The .uouc1oun CoU11ty cchool2 system 11s.s
d.evelo:;ed
toU.U~/,
i:.<..
[;::Cr/l.u~~lly
nd erH.'-.nO..ed, uwle1· __ 1•. l!:mericl:s clirection, until
J_,oudoun people :point to
proce::s of conso1iCJ.c,tion i1t:.s
i~~
fitt:'..a2: l!ric'..e.
:1j_i)1
1
eli:~:in:::.ted.
n-:c-.n.r of
t~1c
~-
The
r:1o::c'e
~LLl.
'
S ti
~r(; ~
r
o:r o, totc:,l of 32 such schools in G..ll conntint; :1ee:;1•0 scl:cccls
novr c.. total of :::;5 schoo1
bJ.ilclin~·s
fo:c
21 ior nec;roes m ,i.:ing
.,
uui·1-o.in-:;-s
i'v,~.
,,_~,~,.
~.1. .;..--~•
('"I
,
r-1""
Do
ti on.
63
te ch:i.l6.rc11 u.1x1.
E2
F1 ou1•
\ t·y-seven
use
of these
schools.
vr~:.i
Bes id.es there are nine t··.'o-1•001:1 scl."1cols in 01;ers.-
~·,_J_J.
Of these r)Uilc.1in3s a1•e
a·-,,
C(d_\..~_i.i.CCt 1:.::~trl ::_:.etent
c.lesl: [~lld ht.:.V-e s~.ni tary plun:oing )tl1i1:tee11 ~r~' ouil t of
brj_ck,stone or cei:1m1t •
..;:..ll in sll -'.:liis sc:.100:..
)I'OJ.JOl't~,'
7c-~u--::a. at so _;e ~;538,000.oo 6 '1 [:dld is r.11 Cou.nt;y o-·ncO.•
C~ic
1
exce,,t
dis tr ic ts <:t re ont ire l:,r out c.dPlinis trL<. t iv el~"/
u.s
is
i•e s iU. e -:t ic.=
1
le i1~ t~1e.:.1e cl until
classes l.SJ dc..ys :;.ml
colo:.~ec1
c1.1ildre21 160 d.o.ys rr£. kine CJ.n
r-
t1Ve1-ia58 te1~~1 of 170 d.O.~'~ i11 a ~re--·.r =ex-.:.." t:~J_l sc2iools. ob
with t:1e large:." tern,
~1:.:s
cone oetter el1r0Jlrn:Et c. nd
62. See il...:pp encl ix I.
'7- ••
TT·1rc::1n1a
• •
. ,. . , "--a.-l- 1°ry_,r--;
~.
6 ...,
0c1.. ool ne
-·· .1.-vJ.u,
;;-_,._,-..J·~,
'
.
:{
1
r?
64 • ~.'
I
P• _o .... •
65. Ioic1. p. 134.
("I
-:..,
rr'
.!J•
---
166.
~ .. lon5
~·.ttewlc:.nce.
- 38 -
Of the 5852 child.ren in t:'.."1e County (4376 ',·rhite e.na. 1476
colorecl), 4255 Gre enro:' Ted. in :::-:chocl.
S:he u.vere:-:;e J.:.:.il;;r
c.ttend· nee is sone 80 pe!' cent of this numiJer or 3309 of
whic~1
2683 e.re r1hite and. 706 c.re colorer'..
:;ot so
in:.:.''~" r110:..·e
:Jll:Jils are be inc; eclucated. in the -_,ub= ic schoc.ls E1c.n :L11
earlier ye[·. rs, 1Ju t they Lre b.ein:::; carried. further and are
receivin,-:.;
be fore.
fa1~
su1icrior tr:.;i.ining c:u1c.l o..d.V'.:.ntn..ges, than ever
Better tea c:1ers c.nd better sch col 111<:.nts e:qJla in
price in lc:.:,rger
e:·:~'enc~i tures.
TouCi.cun school e::per.c1i tures
ree.checl t11eir )eak in 1928 v/!:len the scl:ool ba}c.:1cc s:1.i:T·ed
a total BDent of t254,676.48, $130,717.73 of cl1ich ~81t to
~-c:.:,·:l for instructors. 66
These sums hc.ve nm·1 cleclined. to
~'.106 ,271.36 for teachers salaries c~nd ~182 ,318.84 totL.l.
S:his {_mount C''me from three sources, C56 ,375.38 state f;J11c'!.s,
C93,035.56 county funds, r...nd C21,077~65 dictrict furds. 67
'.:'he se.laries _p8.ic1 tec:.chers J.10..ve gronn w1til now the
basis.
::r. Emerick has e.. regular scc,le of sc.larir::s
vromen since most of
tl10r;1
sre princiruls.
cl
The cen uvere:.ge
(;:1,148.00 for the ye£~r to t'r1e fer:18.1e tei:-.c:rnrs
yearly.
'b:J.S
1
~:736000
Eegro teuc:1ers get less (C:414.00 average) r/l.1ile the
35 hich school teac:1ers est better
pa~T.
IIere the r::en ave1"ae;e
~2Q88 annual1y and v1ocien ~900.00 nhich is ver~r so oCl for
66. Virginia School Repo1't, 1928, p. 63.
67. Virginia ScDool Report, 1935-36, p. 112.
- 39 -
rural teachers in Vii-•giniEi.. 6 8
~
At the 9res en t writing tJ.ie whole s ci1ool system in
Lond.oun County is very favore.1)le.
~iis
to be faced, and Hr. Eme1"ic:: and
lified to fac,e them.
far as is
p1~actical,
hich grade
teac~J.ers
Cll!..'rent probl8ns have
board are well g_ua-
Consoliclc.ttion is non
eu)lo~red
as
numerous bases s.1"e in operz.tion and
are aoing their job Hell.
of harmony and coope1·ation
tll~,t
prevo.ils
The spirit
Dresont~J
a united
front against any trou ~)J_ e the, t may 1•e stirred. U.'..J "by nar::cow
minded c:'anks as Vias tried. recently.
S:lms fc:,r school of-
ficials have managed to esca::;e political corru:;;tion c.nd. Ekdntain control in the
lie service.
of those interested. in real pub-
lu.~nds
AdministrG.tion undt;J.."
ly efficient and pro:-:;is es to
ITI~.
c;~ntinue
Emerick is excegtional-
successful v;i th
:~~im
e:.t the helm.
1:ast history co u:Jled ni th present c ircw:rnte.nces s 0er:1
to indicate that J_,oudoun Ccunty sch0ols nil1 co:-itinue
to grow o..nd
~orosper
for years to cofle.
!!r. :Crv:::rick promises
\,/ to continue his progressive policy in vieVi of' this, additional irnpi"ovement is inevit2.ole.
He mo1 e t:r_an ar;y one
1
person is responsiole for 'aki110 eO..ucs.tion 1n Lou6-oun nnat
1
it is today, ancl on him hi.nze s f'u ture elev el opr.rnEt s.
F I NI S
680 Ibido pp. 152 and 155.
3IBLIOGRAPHY
lo Deck, Pa trick J.1.., a.:.1d Heu ton, Henry. An .Economic c:~nd
Social Surve of Loudom1 Countv, Univcrsi t~, of Virginia
Record. Extension 'eries, Vol X, lTo. 10, Charlotteville,
Virginia, 1926.
2o Deeds. (VoltlI!le found in Supt. :=merick's Office.)
3. Hall, 'Hilbur C., History of Lees"ourg School, (Speech
delivered at the cl.ed. icatiu11 of the :LeeslmJ7G Eigh Sc:nool,
found in the files of Suyt. Emerick's ofi'ice.}
4o Head, James i:I., History <..:.nd Comprehensive Tiescription
of Loudoun County, Virg·lnia, Park Vie 1-.' l'ress, 190'J.
5. Heatwole, C. J., ~History of Education in
!!c~cltUlltan Co., Hew York, 1916.
Virgi~ia,
I
o. :Ii storical Sketch of ?urcellvi1.l e School, ( 1923-24)
{Po.per found in the files of Supt • .:.::ne:.'ick's Ofl'ice.)
7. Hinutes of t.he Louc1o w:1 CoW1t;y School 3ou.r:1 1898-1919.
8. Hinu7. es of
Loudoun Counbr
ct School :Joe.rd 1919-1927.
10. Sanders, H. R., Lu11ceforcJ, Eliza I>. , anc1 Fenton, Virginia, Loudoun County Geography Supplement.
County School Board., 1925.
Loudoun
-i-
SCHOOLS IN USE
1935-36
l.E::nerick2. \:~odland
3.Brooklyn
4.Lovettsville
5.
If
6. 'raylors t ovm
7. Furnace I.rt r n
8.Arlington
9. Mill tdlrm
10.;:Iillsboro
.. 11.
II
I!'.~. ;~1t. Plesant
13.Lucketts
14.Sunny Ridge
15.Waterf'ord
16.
II
17.?aeonian Springs
(Clos~P
MAP NUMBER-:xir-2-83
SCHOOLS CLOSED
.,on~
Run
Le~ah
HilJ
-KEY-
,"Jb~rcd>l ·Ln
D
,,.,Cross Roads
Wl1ankerfield
.ui ttle Ri vor ~ifaters
1iLei th ton
fi.Tountain
·::he r:o; t 1 r, n d.
l)Da tlands
'Cannon Chape}§r:::rappe
Limestone
'~irmont
t.-'Paxon
=
6 •
~
Wt-!ITE
!:1.&.ME:NT~RY
SCKOOL$
NEGRO
~\.t.WIEt&'TARV
&CM0oL5 ONLY
o COMe\t4ED WHl'Tr.
@ • COM<t~D
0 =
0:
NC.GRO
ONL'f
HIS"
A'l'tt'I
[L?.M'-HT"'"Y
Hl'-H
AMO
t.L"M~"TA1t."f
WHITE HIGK ecMOOL'5 Or-tL"I"
H'-GRO HIGtt :>C::HOOl!!I ON.L'(
U)
~'Silcott
Springs
,iMt.GilE)ad
ly ,J~--3')
18. l1ound Hill
11
19.
(c1.~ul • 1w1)
20.Purcellville
21.
II
22. iamil ton
23.
ll
24. Clarks Gap (o.Lt-r 'u-_\,
25.Leesbur3
2G.
II
27. 3luerr.ont
28.Lincoln
29 o
II
3o.Jrowells Grove
31 :~iughsville
32. '.Voodburn (rf.,t.et 11\1--1,
33.Cool Sprinc.:
34. !\ock hill
35. Jnison-Bloomfiel
36. Phil11:ont
.
.__,
37. Horth Fork(~ 1 1t~ 9-~
38. l '1ountain Gap
39 •
II
/
40.Ashburn
I
41.
II
/
42. !3lakely Grove
43.Hillisville
44.St. Louis
45. l.Tountville
! 46. Harble
Guarry
47. Hed Hill (ol.l+ i'c\o;·\~
48.Sterling
49.Hiddleburg
50.
II
51. Aldi e {u .... .i 1ta\i>·1>(.)
52.Dull Run
53.I1ittle River
54.Arcola
55.Garter56. Coleman l\J.c-.•~ \'\\ 5 --i.t.)
57. I IcGravJs Ridge
58.Conklin
' 59. Pleasant Valley VIRGINIA STATE PLANNING BOARD
D
SCHOOL
SURVEY
MAP OF
LOUDOUN COJNTY. VA
~CALE.'t.CW t'41'if!S
411
..ii.::i:i?'ETTDIX II
GR.i.'i.:DE:D SCHCOLS IH 1890
~ion
John S.
Simy~:on
Johns. Somer
l
w
8
6
235
184
148
80
10
117
w
8
2
79
63
60
79
8
103
w
7
2
8.)
G6
43
73
3
99
40
75
8
120
70
80
8
31
72
8
65
77
65
46
71
8
33
er
L. P.
ourg
John H. Priest
w
7
2
56
on
Fortescue Tihittle
Vl
7
3
106
'Jilliam C. Garnett
v1
8
2
57
Vl
3
3
109
\'!
7
2
3J
ord
Br~xm
~.~!illiarn
B. Carr
oro
43
131
S2
sville
c.
.n... Ner1lson
'.'!
7
2
92
73
59
76
8
87
burg
1~.
II. 'Ds.:v is
c
6
2
132
93
77
83
8
42
..(·i..nnie V. Moore
c
6
2
116
69
51
74
8
33
Ro ';ert H. T:,rler
c
6
3
175
125
i
In
I
-,..0'
--'-t::;,
98
78
8