First Union School

First Union School (1926)

First Union School (2016)

Site Name: First Union School

Date of Construction: 1926

Reason for Construction: Built as part of the Rosenwald project to provide adequate or improved schooling for African-American children in the South during segregation.

Site History: The First Union school was built with help from the Rosenwald Fund.  This fund was set up by Julius Rosenwald, a 2^nd generation Jewish man who made a fortune by building Sears into a giant retail company. In 1912 Booker T. Washington approached Rosenwald with an idea to build schools for black children in the rural South where “separate but equal” was not practiced. With a gift from Rosenwald to Tuskegee, Washington secured permission to build six experimental schools in Alabama.  The project grew and detached from Tuskegee to focus on the quality of the schools being built. Standard plans and requirements were drawn up to ensure the buildings could serve their purpose.  The First Union school was built according to “Two Teacher Community School” plan “To Face North or South Only.” The school received most of its funding from Goochland County with about $700 coming from the Rosenwald Fund and $700 coming from the community.  The school was proposed in 1925, and less than a year later, construction started. Mr. Gathright, a carpenter was in charge of the project, but the surrounding community, especially those from a nearby church that the school was named after, volunteered a lot of free labor toward the construction project. The school opened in September of 1926 and remained functioning until 1958.  Grades 1-7 were taught at the school and they studied all subjects. Of specific interest is the the study of African-American history in the schools. According to former students this was very memorable and important for them to learn their own history and the struggle they have gone through to get simple things such as the schools. The school was closed in 1958 when the students were moved to Randolph school and the was later sold in 1959 to nearby residents. The building was empty until 1985 when it was bought by Ms. Grubbs who converted the school into a house. All residents have made sure to keep the building in good condition while also maintaining as much of the structure as possible.

Area History: This school is located in Goochland, Virginia.  Goochland was formed in March 1727 and was officially established in 1728 from Henrico.  Goochland was the first county formed from Henrico and was named after Sir William Gooch who arrived in September 1727 to serve as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia until 1749. Goochland county at its founding covered land on both sides of the James River and extended past the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1744 Albemarle County was formed from the west end of the county and in 1748 Powhatan was formed south of the river.  When founded Goochland was a frontier for lots of plantations which mostly produced wheat.  The James River, Kanawha Canal, and railroad allowed Goochland to be connected and grow. The county is prominently rural but there has been development in the east end of the county and around the town of Goochland.

What has changed about the site has changed? The building stopped functioning as a school in 1958, but is now a residence, so some of the interior has changed to accommodate for indoor plumbing and housing purposes, but for the main part remains unchanged. The outside still has most of the same wood with just new paint, even the roof may be the original.  Some other small changes have been made and a building that used to be next to the school is no longer there, but overall the school has been well maintained.

What about the surrounding area has changed? Not much has changed. The school was built in a rural area that has remained rural, though the entire county of Goochland has seen development since 1926.

Reflection: I had never heard about these schools or this fund before I did this project. I thought that it was really interesting to see that there were some people who did care about the quality of education that African-American children in the south were getting and had the means to help. I was amazed by how much the county contributed to the cause fiscally and the community helped with labor. The building and establishment of the school spoke to the nature of the community and how invested the parents were in getting their children a good education. Finally, I was really excited about this project being a union of a rich Jewish man and Booker T. Washington and his idea for small rural schools that was fully recognized on a huge scale. Almost 5,000 schools were built as a result of this fund to provide for 1/3 of rural students and teachers with a place of education and even residence, for some teachers.

Sources:

CivicPlus. Profile. Goochland County. Last modified January 7, 2016. Accessed March 17, 2016. http://www.goochlandva.us/.

First Union, Goochland Co. July 1926. Photograph. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://image.lva.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/photo.cgi/SB/01015.

Green, Bryan Clark. “Rosenwald Schools in Virginia.” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form. Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Richmond, August 12, 2004. http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/

Counties/Brunswick/NR_RosenwaldSchoolMPD_part1_text2004.pdf.

"Introduction." Rosenwald Schools of Virginia: Goochland County. Accessed February 17, 2016. http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/schools/Goochland/index.html.

 National Trust for Historic Preservation. "History of the Rosenwald School Program." National Trust for Historic Preservation. Accessed March 16, 2016. http://www.preservationnation.org/rosenwald/history.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#.Vumy55MrK8U.

Peters, Margaret T. “First Union School.” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Richmond, June 18, 2006. http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/

counties/Goochland/037-5016_First_Union_School_2009_Nomination_FINAL.pdf.

Author: Christine Kemmerly