Jump to content

Laurel Grove Colored School and Church

Add links
Coordinates: 38°46′06″N 77°09′18″W / 38.7683°N 77.15505°W / 38.7683; -77.15505
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Laurel Grove Colored School and Church
Laurel Grove School Museum
Laurel Grove Baptist Church
Map
38°46′06″N 77°09′18″W / 38.7683°N 77.15505°W / 38.7683; -77.15505
LocationBeulah Street,
Franconia, Virginia, U.S.
Religious instituteBaptist
History
Foundedearly 1880s
Architecture
Closed1932 (school)

The Laurel Grove Colored School and Church was a congregation founded by former enslaved African Americans in the 1880s in Franconia, Virginia. It is the only African American schoolhouse preserved in Northern Virginia.[1] The school closed in 1932 and is now a museum called the Laurel Grove School Museum, and the church is known as the Laurel Grove Baptist Church.

History

[edit]

The land was originally part of a 13 acres (5.3 ha) farm belonging to freed slaves Georgiana and William Jasper.[1] The church site was deeded in 1881 to the Virginia School System by Jaspers for $10. The church site was located at 6834 Beulah Street.

In 1884, the couple provided another half-acre for a one room school to be built next to the church.[1][2] The school educated black students aged 6 to 14, from 1886 to 1932.[1][3] It was part of the Fairfax County Public School system until 1933.[3]

Modern history

[edit]
Laurel Grove School and Church historical marker
Laurel Grove School and Church historical marker

The school became a living museum, the Laurel Grove School Museum, which has open to the public since 2003 through the Laurel Grove School Association.[3] It is staged as a 1920s school room.[3][4]

Laurel Grove Baptist Church building stood until being destroyed by an electrical fire in December 2004.[1][5]

The church cemetery still exists,[6] as does the school building, which was honored in 2008 with the erection of a historical marker by the Fairfax County History Commission.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Gardner, Amy (December 27, 2007). "In Franconia, a House Divided". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Laurel Grove Colored School and Church Historical Marker". Historical Marker Database (HMDB). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "Old School Becoming Living Museum". The Daily Progress. February 9, 2003. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-07-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Group turning old segregated schoolhouse into living museum". The Free Lance-Star. February 9, 2003. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-07-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Fire Guts More Than 100-Year-Old Alexandria, Virginia Church". Firehouse.com. December 19, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  6. ^ "Teaching with Laurel Grove School - Laurel Grove Cemetery". Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. George Mason University. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laurel Grove School.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laurel_Grove_Colored_School_and_Church&oldid=1303301507"