Douglass High School
Opening and Closing
1941-1968
Physical and Map Location
407 E. Market Street, Leesburg, Va. 20176
Petitions
Transportation
Walking was a common method of school transportation even before the creation of Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). It’s believed that students who lived within 3 miles of a school could walk from their home to school. The figure at https://edwinwashingtonproject.org/s/ewp/item/31139 shows the location of the school with a circle representing the area from which students could have walked, back and forth from their home to the school. Travel by horse was also used and could have extended the travel distance.
History
Data on Douglass High School is being edited. Please go to Leesburg Colored Schools leesburgschools-1.pdf for a preliminary study of all of the “colored” schools in Leesburg. Much history on the school itself already exists on the internet or in the Balch Library in Leesburg, and Douglass also has a vibrant alumni association (LDAA), which has office in gthe building.
In 2022 the Douglass Commemorative Committee, in cooperation with the School Board, began making plans to restore the building, which as of 2023 also holds offices for the Edwin Washington Society, the Loudoun Douglass Alumni Association and the local chapter of the NAACP. Image below of a miniature statue to be erected in front of the Douglass HS Building commemorating the struggle for Black education and a formal high school. Final design by Jeff Hall, based on charcoal rendering by Larry Roeder.
Principals
Too many instructors to list here. See Edwin Washington Society Research Center, Douglass HS building, Leesburg
Principals as follows
1957/63: Stephen McClellan Sydnor. Bon 2 Nov 1904. Graduated from Hampton Institute. Held a MA in chemisgtry.
Insurance and Description