Saint John SChool

Built in 1922, St. John Elementary School is one of seven Rosenwald Schools that were constructed in Albemarle County.   
The Rosenwald Rural Schools Initiative program aimed to narrow racial schooling gaps for African American children in the segregated South

The initiative was a collaboration between Booker T. Washington, who was President of the Tuskegee Institute, and Chicago businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, President of Sears & Roebuck. ​

​Between 1912 and 1937, they developed a matching grant program, starting with the construction of six schools in Alabama. They sparked an initiative that facilitated the construction of more than 5,000 schools, vocational shops, and teachers’ homes across 15 states.

​Virginia’s constitution of 1869 created a universal but segregated public school system. During Reconstruction, former slaves pursued universal education, establishing hundreds of schools throughout the South.

​In Virginia, the Rosenwald Fund helped to build 382 schools, 18 teachers’ homes, and vocational buildings.

St. John Elementary School was converted into private living quarters in the 1950s.

​St. John Baptist Church bought the school in 2002, and in 2011 a non-profit was established to renovate this historic structure.
Once renovated, it  will serve as a fitness center, community auditorium, museum/health resource library, and community meeting center.