Laurel Grove Colored School and Church

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Laurel Grove Colored School and Church
Laurel Grove School Museum
Laurel Grove Baptist Church
Laurel Grove Cemetery
03.LaurelGroveSchool.FranconiaVA.4October2011 (6218860343).jpg
Laurel Grove Colored School and Church
38°46′06″N77°09′18″W / 38.7683°N 77.15505°W / 38.7683; -77.15505
LocationBeulah Street,
Franconia, Virginia, U.S.
Religious institute Baptist
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 was known as the Laurel GroveBaptist Church.

Contents

History

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 the 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 Schools system until 1933. [3]

Modern history

Laurel Grove School and Church historical marker 11.LaurelGroveSchool.FranconiaVA.4October2011 (6218882791).jpg
Laurel Grove School and Church historical marker

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

The 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

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Gardner, Amy (December 27, 2007). "In Franconia, a House Divided". The Washington Post . Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Laurel Grove Colored School and Church Historical Marker". Historical Marker Database (HMDB). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "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.
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