Edwin Washington Project

Introduction

Prior to the Civil War school districts existed mainly as a way of managing the education of indigent, white students.  This evolved into semi-autonomous public districts associated with Magisterial District Boundaries, then the modern system seen today that operate under a single County School Board.  See also the School Boxes in the archives of the Circuit Court in Leesburg.

Sample Documents:

• 1846.  Memoranda on boundaries.   (school boxes.)   This folder is legal sized, so is boxed in Gaylord Misc. Legal Sized Papers Box.
• 1903.   In the files is a four-page Xerox copy of a memorandum on boundary lines from April, 1903.  Boundaries are shown for Broad Run, Mercer[1], Mt. Gilead[2], Jefferson, Lovettsville and the Town of Leesburg.  The original is held in the Balch Library, the accession number being 2011.0063X.  The description by the Balch is “a memorandum, signed by W.A. Edmondson, Superintendent of Schools, stating that it is being filed in response to “the requirements of the new Revenue Law, approved 16 April 1903.” It describes the boundaries of the seven school districts, using natural boundaries, political boundaries, and names of property owners.”    “W.A. Edmondson (n.d.) was Superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools from 1909-1916 making his reference to “the New Revenue Law approved April 16, 1903” in the Loudoun County School District Boundary Memorandum somewhat confusing. The Acts of Assembly for 1902-03 do not mention school boundaries in chapter 148, an act “to raise revenue for support of the government and public free schools…” approved 16 April 1903. No other information about W.A. Edmondson was located (Ottinger 2011).”
• 1954.   The Loudoun County Supervisors on June 8, 1954 approved a true boundary between Fairfax and Loudoun that ran through the middle of Fairfax School for Negroes (a high school). (WP Staff 1954).

2.4.2 District Accounts and Census returns for 1882-1921:  Leather-bound and handwritten, the volume of 511 pages shows in many years the difference between districts and between “colored” and white populations, salaries for teachers and in some cases the progress of specific students.  An interesting point is that despite a mandate for segregation, before Emerick, the race of teachers was not shown, though it is clear from the records that African-Americans were paid less.  The book is housed in the vault in the HQ fo the Edwin Washington Project.  

2.4.3   Broad Run School District

Gaining a full picture of the Broad Run School District, where the Conklin Colored School and McGraw’s Ridge were, requires examining the records of local newspapers as well the Circuit Court Archives (Chapter 18) and the archives of the LCPS.

• Ashburn, 1922.  Regarding sale of school property at Ashburn on Dec 15, 1922 for $300.  See Order, Circuit Court, 12 October, 1923, Petition of County School Board[1].
• May, 1928 Gala Day in Broad Run.   This event provided awards to children in the five point start health program.  See 7.2.1 Five Point Star Standard.
• Land of Ashby Smith:  South Side of Little River Turnpike.  Broad Run District, No. 6.  Related to the purchase of land from Smith adjoining school property to enable the construction of a new school house[2].

2.4.4   Jefferson District

• 1886.  Jefferson School District vs. Hoopman. (Location: Archives of Circuit Court of Loudoun County, School Box 1, 1795-1919, Folder 8 1860-1889)
• (1905) Jefferson District Clerk’s Return of School Census[1]    (Circular No. 269, School Census.)   The book contains a census of pupils ages 7-20 in Jefferson District.  There were 619 whites and 216 “colored,” none of whom were deaf or blind.     Similar census documents would have been created for other districts as well, like Broad Run, but those have not survived.  The law required that a census be completed by “the Clerk of each district in June or July, 1905 and every five years thereafter.“ (District Clerk, Jefferson School District 1905)  .  We don’t know at this time if the data from the District Clerk Return was forwarded to Richmond; there is no such indication.   What we do know is that in May 1905, the Department of Public Instruction in Richmond sent out Circular No 269 to all Clerks of District School Boards to conduct the census.  It may be that these records, once forwarded to the county (Division) Superintendent and studied, were then stored and eventually disposed of.
• There are six pages of information on “colored” students and about 36 pupils a page.  The cover is severely damaged. The last page of the book contains a very faint list of instructors.

The Law Provides:

• 1^st.  That the clerk of each district school board, during the month of June or July, 1905, and every five years thereafter, shall in proper person or by deputies approved by the Division Superintendent of schools take a census of all persons between the ages of seven and twenty years residing within the school district, and gather statistics relating to the interests of education in said district, according to the forms furnished by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
• 2^nd. That the district clerk, at the same time, also take a separate census of the deaf and blind persons between said age residing within the school district, giving the sex, age, and residence of each, and return a copy thereof to the Division Superintendent.  For this service he shall receive a similar compensation to that allowed for listing other children, and out of the same fund.
• 3^rd.  That lists thus prepared shall be submitted for careful revision to the district school board as soon as may be after their completion.
• 4^th. That, when so revised, the lists shall be submitted, along with the other papers of the district, to the county board at its annual meeting, and immediately thereafter delivered to the Division Superintendent.
• 5^th. That afore said service the clerk or his deputy shall receive compensation out of the district school fund at the rate of three dollars per hundred of the children listed by him, subject to abatement, on the discovery, before or after settlement of the account, of errors or omissions in the list, or to a fine, by the district board.
• 6^th. That the district clerk shall, in proper person, or by deputies approved by the Division Superintendent of Schools, take the census of the school population; and that the Division Superintendent of Schools shall exercise special care in securing a prompt and accurate discharge of this duty.” (District Clerk, Jefferson School District 1905).

May 8, 1918.   The Jefferson District School Board closed all High School work in Hillsboro, Waterford and Round Hill and conducted them as elementary schools only during 1918/19.  This was due to a lack of funds provided by the Board of Supervisors.[1]

• [1] See 2.4.4 Jefferson District School Board  Memo of May 8, 1918.

2.4.5  Leesburg School District Records  (also used for Leesburg City)

• Petition to appoint Mr. Dyer Gunn as Trustee of Leesburg District.  Unknown date.  See White Petition Box. 
• Prior to 1952, there was a Leesburg Magisterial District, but this changed in 1952.  Chapter 615 of the Acts of Assembly of 1952 provided for abolishing the Town of Leesburg School District and merging this school district with Leesburg School District, thus making a new school identical with the magisterial district (Clerk, Trustee Electoral Board 1952, July 11). 
• 1952:  Memo titled Essential Information Relating to Separate School District for the Town of Leesburg.  Contains a history of development of school districts for town and area around.

2.4.6  Lovettsville School District Records

• Petition to reappoint Mr. Charles M. Souder as Trustee.
• Lovettsville District, 1921.   Regarding purchasing new school property from the land of Joseph W.B. and Mary A. Shoemaker[1].
• Lovettsville District, 1922:  Regarding purchasing land of Daniel Shafer[2].

2.4.7  Mt. Gilead Records

Collection of files related to Mt. Gilead District, No 2.  Land was sold to the school board in order to construct a high school.  That land dated back to Oct 11, 1854 along the road from Lincoln to Purcellville.  There is a survey and a deed, dated 3 July, 1909. Location:  Loudoun County Circuit Court Archives, School Box 1 (1795-1919), Folder 7: Schools 1850-1859

2.4.8   Mercer District Records

• 1887.  Mercer District vs. H.N. Rector.  Mountville.  Location: Archives of Circuit Court of Loudoun County, School Box 1, 1795-1919, Folder 8 1860-1889)
• 1910.  Middleburg School.  A collection of documents related to a deed of September, 1910 conveying land to the Mercer School District.  Land at the corner of Madison and Marshall for a school to be called “Middleburg School.”  There was also discussion of a loan from the Literary Fund.   Location:  Archives of Circuit Court of Loudoun County:  School Box 1, 1795-1919, Folder 10 (School 1910-1919)
• Mercer School Board vs. Robert T. Bodmer:   Land purchased by Bodmer from the Mercer School Board had to be resold due to default by Bodmer. Location: School Box One, Folder 10, Circuit Court Archives.
• Mt. Gilead District (if on District Plan) for AY 1926/27. Shows receipts and expenditures.  Kept in 2.5(b) White Petition Box, Controversy over Replacement of Lincoln HS in 1926
• See also Records of FoxCroft Academy which ran a public service for Mercer district, with assistance to poor African-Americans and White.

2.4.9  Purcellville School District

The question of a school district for Emerick’s hometown of Purcellville came up during his first year in office as Division Superintendent.   According to an undated memo of his in the 1926 White Petition Box for Replacing the Lincoln High School, which burned down that year, Emerick revealed the following.  “When the question of a separate Purcellville District was pending in 1917 one of my first acts as Division Superintendent was to advise State Superintendent Stearns that since the object was a new high school, the course proposal did not seem the proper one.”   His rationale for that position was addressed earlier in the same memo.  “Let me first say that on several occasions the question of permitting some high school work in the Purcellville, Hamilton and Bluemont schools and additional high school work in the Hillsboro school has been presented to me.  I have always discouraged such proposals because I felt the course proposed would result in a number of weak high schools, although it was apparent that the final outcome would be only one high school for the entire territory and that at the most populous place, Purcellville. [1]