Loudoun County High School: A History

Loudoun County High School. Lord Loudoun 1956

Written for Loudoun County High School's 60th anniversary

Established in 1954, Loudoun County High School is aptly named. Not many schools can claim that their history is as tightly intertwined with its county as “County” can. Following periods of segregation, consolidation, integration, and expansion, the school has evolved with its community. As its surrounding area has transformed from farmlands to suburbs, countless renovations to keep the school up-to-date have created a maze to the uninitiated. Yet the school has retained its stately charm while providing an education to students for the past 60 years.

Nearly a half century before Loudoun County High School was built, Loudoun County Public Schools began offering secondary education in 1909. By 1916, there were 12 regional white high schools (As Loudoun County was deeply rooted in the South, black students were segregated into different schools. While a few high school level classes were offered, black high school students would not have their own building until Douglass High School in 1941) [1]. With the school system’s population hovering at 4,000 students but with over 100 schools, mostly one room schoolhouses, the state ordered that Loudoun downsize [2]. The school system began a decades-long period of consolidation. By the mid-1940’s, there were four white high schools left – Aldie, Lincoln, Leesburg, and Lovettsville [3].

O.L. Emerick, the superintendent of Loudoun schools, was not satisfied. He wanted all white high school students under one roof. In 1947, he announced his idea for one consolidated high school. In true Loudoun “I Byde My Time” fashion, the Board of Supervisors stalled, debated, rejected, fought, and put off the vote. The main issues were avoiding tax hikes and if the money would be better used to build one school, two schools, or expand the four existing ones. The public was invested in the debate as well, bringing posters and speaking at public hearings for all sides. Finally, after a holiday break, the Board of Supervisors quietly approved the plan for one school in Leesburg on March 1951 [4].

Although the School Board had already chosen Leesburg as the location for the new school, groups from Purcellville, Lovettsville, and Hamilton tried to challenge the decision so the school could be built in their own town. They argued that Leesburg was not the geographic center of the county, and properties in their towns could be less expensive than the Leesburg property. The appeals were dismissed and the English Construction Company was hired to build Loudoun County High School in Leesburg [5].

 “September 11, 1953, should be marked as the greatest date in the history of Loudoun County.” That was spoken by James Swart, a student of Aldie HS speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for Loudoun County High School. The Board of Supervisors, School Board, and the four high school principals and student bodies were all on hand. The honor of the first shovel in the ground went to Emerick. Actual construction would start on the 14^th, giving the school exactly one year of construction until its first day [6].

Construction of the school was very important to Loudoun residents. Every milestone was written about in the newspapers. When a lack of funds either meant finishing the school’s auditorium or remodeling the courthouse, funds went to the auditorium. Loudouners wanted a complete school; the courthouse could wait another year [7].

In the Spring of 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education. Superintendent Emerick was quoted to say: "My own thought is that this isn't going to affect what we do in Loudoun County schools during 1954-55. ... We won't do anything until we get a directive from the Federal court and some action on the state level" [8].

On September 14, 1954, Loudoun County High School opened its doors to 979 students as the county’s singular all-white high school. The Georgian-style school housed grades 8-12 (There were no middle schools at the time). At a cost of $1,170,745 [9], it was the most expensive building project in the county ($9,658,370 in today’s money [10]), and one of, if not the largest building built in the entire county. The previous four high schools became elementary schools. George D. Grove and J. Lupton Simpson were the high school’s first principal and vice-principal, respectively [11]. The students chose their mascot to be the historic Mosby’s Raiders, a famous local Civil War Confederate Cavalry unit [12].

The school opened – incomplete. The school had the bare minimum of classrooms ready to open on time, but the cafeteria, auditorium, and gym each opened at later dates. The Front Lawn was just dirt, which became a muddy lake when it rained. Even the front entryway columns had not been built yet; students had to enter through the side entrances. By February of 1955, the school was finally complete [13]. A dedication ceremony was held on February 19, 1955 [14]. The football field still would not be built on campus until 1961. In the mean time, Fireman’s Field in Leesburg was used [15].

Consolidation meant LCHS could offer more specialized courses, such as Public Speaking, Economic Geography, Art, French, and Diversified Occupations. For the students, one of the most exciting new offerings was driver’s training, with a 1955 Custom Ford V-8 sedan the school owned [16], although the most popular course was Typing [17].

LCHS was the singular white high school in the county for only eight years. During that time, the student population quickly outgrew the school, so much so that staircases in the school had to be designated for “up” or “down” use only [18]. In 1962, Loudoun Valley High School opened up to serve the students in the western half of the county. As the only two white high schools in the county, an intense rivalry ensued.

Throughout the rest of the 60’s, the fight over the desegregation of schools was reaching its climax. After completely resisting any form of integration in the 50's, the school system and county instead tried to delay integration for as long as possible. As a way to slightly desegregate, the Virginia General Assembly instituted the Freedom of Choice Plan, which let students choose to go to any school they wanted to. Black students started attending LCHS as early as 1962. This went on for a few years. Ultimately, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that, even with this plan, a majority of blacks (and no whites) attended Loudoun’s black schools, and the school system was still operating an illegal dual school system. Loudoun schools were ordered to completely integrate by the 1967-1968 school year [19].

During this same period, LCHS was facing overcrowded conditions again. The same year that Loudoun Valley High School opened, the county’s first planned community Sterling Park and Dulles International Airport opened up. The population started to grow from the east. Mobile classrooms were brought to LCHS, and in 1966 the school’s first expansion wing was built for vocational classes. It still wasn’t enough. With LCHS bursting at the seams holding over 1,500 students, the school system was in dire need of a third high school [20]. A year before the new school Broad Run High School would open, 8^th and 9^th graders who would be attending Broad Run had to be temporarily sent to the recently vacated Douglass High School, renamed the Broad Run Annex Building [21]. When Broad Run opened in 1969, LCHS’s early life overcrowding finally subsided [22].

The 1970’s brought many new changes to Loudoun County High School. In 1971, the school got its first computer – the size of two classrooms [23]. In 1976, the school received its second expansion, an auxiliary gym (now the wrestling room). That same year, the opening of J. Lupton Simpson Middle School meant LCHS’s eighth grade students moved from the high school to the middle school [24]. Vocational classes also left, moving into the Charles S. Monroe Technology Center down the road. 1976 was also the year of the United States’ Bicentennial. In honor of the occasion, a time capsule was buried by the flagpole, set to be reopened a hundred years later in 2076 [25].

Starting the 1978-79 school year, one controversy would pick at old racial wounds. Due to a questionably severe sports attendance rule, a black senior was cut from the basketball team.  His father, thinking it was due to racism, protested by chopping off the mascot logo’s flag on the school sign with an ax. The logo had accurately depicted a Mosby Raider with a Confederate Flag. The rule was deemed to be unfair and the student was allowed to play again. However, the initial controversy transformed into one over changing the mascot. The next school year, unhappiness over the administration’s indecisiveness on what to do prompted 300 students to hold a sit-in in the front foyer. 30-40 police officers were called to the school just in case anything got out of hand. Principal Kenneth Culbert called the students for a talk in the auditorium. After 90 minutes, everyone calmed down. It was later agreed by a student advisory committee that the mascot’s flag should be changed. A new flag design was chosen upon by the student body and became a new symbol for the school [26].

In 1985, the cafeteria kitchens were expanded. Ironically, a whole new cafeteria complex was added to the school just six years later. The old cafeteria section became a band and chorus wing, while their old shared classroom became the drama room. The new cafeteria wing had classrooms on its second floor, yet they were not connected to the school’s original second floor at the front of the school. Students would often arrive to class late trying to travel from one second floor to the other. About this same time, the school received its first air conditioning units and elevators (one for each second floor section of the building) [27].

In a matter of years, Loudoun County began its largest growth to date. The Dulles Toll Road and low interest rates made the county the place to live in the Washington, DC area. More students prompted the need for more space and schools. To increase its capacity, temporary classroom trailers were sent to LCHS. In 1996, a new main gym wing was built onto the school. The old main gym became the auxiliary gym [28]. In 2001, Heritage High School opened up as the second high school in Leesburg, taking many of LCHS’s students. Heritage shortly became LCHS’s cross-town rival.

On the evening of January 22, 2002, two students set an assistant principal’s office on fire. The fire gutted the main office, destroyed the school’s computer servers, and left smoke and water damage throughout the building. The school was closed for the rest of the week. Inrecon Insurance Reconstruction Company, the company that had worked on the Pentagon after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, worked around the clock to get the school usable for students again. When the school reopened, half of the front building’s first floor hallway was still closed off for further work. There was over $2 million worth in damages [29] [30].

In 2004, the school celebrated its 50^th anniversary. Many commemorative events were held. An instrumental, “Loudoun Praises,” was commissioned for the anniversary and was played by the school’s band at graduation [31].

A year later, the school underwent a $19.3 million two-year renovation. The main goal of the renovation was to modernize the school to the standards of newly-built schools across the county, yet preserve its iconic original features. The school as a whole was refreshed and cleaned up, while many major changes were instituted as well. A new auxiliary gym was built, the old auxiliary gym became the new library, and the old library became new classrooms. The original back wings were demolished for new Art and Math halls. The increased building capacity did away with the need for the “temporary” trailers. The stadium traded out its wooden bleachers for metal ones. The highlight of the renovation was a skywalk, which linked the second floor wings together, easing traffic flow throughout the school [32].

In 2009, a NJROTC program was launched at the school, a first for any Loudoun school, drawing students to LCHS from across the county. 2010 brought Tuscarora High School on the northern border of Leesburg, taking more students from LCHS and becoming another cross-town rival. In 2012, President Obama rented the school for a campaign rally, the first presidential visit to any school in the county. In 2013, LCHS was awarded both the Signature of Loudoun: Legends Award and the Student Choice Award for its iconic architecture on the Loudoun landscape [33]. 2014 became the year for sports, as the football field received an artificial turf field and new bathroom facilities, while the inaugural class was chosen for the school’s newly formed Athletic Hall of Fame.

Today, Loudoun County High School holds its own in a school system of over 80 schools. It has evolved and adapted with every generation of students, becoming a staple of its community. It is truly the school of its people and its county. As the school proceeds toward the future, it will continue to provide a safe learning environment layered with years of tradition.

Oh, hail thy name, Loudoun High, our treasured Blue and Gold 

We praise thy grace and dignity, thy glories to behold 

We’ll ever more thy name adore, and honors to thee bring 

And now to Loudoun High School, thy praises will we sing 

Oh, Loudoun High, school adored, our Alma Mater dear 

Fond memories of thee we’ll hold, our hearts and minds to cheer.

Enjoy other LCHS Articles from the same author:

Loudoun County High School: Flag Controversy

Loudoun County High School: Decorative Wooden Urns
Obama at LCHS Recap
LCHS: Columns
LCHS: Murals

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Sources

[1] Scheel, Eugene. "High Schools Once Flourished Across Area." The Washington Post [Washington, D.C.] 21 Sept. 2003, Final Edition ed., T.03. Print.
[2] Raflo, Frank. Within the Iron Gates: Stories Remembered 1925-1975. Leesburg, VA: Loudoun Times-Mirror, 1988. Print.
[3] Scheel, Eugene. Ibid.
[4] Raflo, Frank. Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] "School Officials Complete 'Spade Work' for High School Building." The Blue Ridge Herald [Purcellville, Va] 17 Sept. 1953. Print.
[7] "School Budget Must Be Increased." Loudoun Times Mirror [Leesburg] 1 Apr. 1954. Print. 
[8] "Segregation Decision Won't Change County School Plans For 1954." Loudoun Times Mirror [Leesburg] 20 May 1954: 1. Print.
[9] "Opening Day Sees Some Busses Snarled." Loudoun Times Mirror [Leesburg] 16 Sept. 1954. Print.
[10] Friedman, Morgan. "The Inflation Calculator." Web.
[11] "School Board Appoints High School Principal." Loudoun Times Mirror [Leesburg] 11 Mar. 1954. Print.
[12] School History. Loudoun County High School: Student Handbook. Leesburg: Loudoun County High School SCA, C. 1975. Print.
[13] Ibid.
[14] "High School Dedication February 19." Loudoun Times Mirror [Leesburg] 20 Jan. 1955. Print.
[15] School History. Loudoun County High School: Student Handbook. Ibid.
[16] "Loudoun High's Driver-Training Car." Loudoun Times Mirror [Leesburg] 3 Feb. 1955. Print.
[17] "New School's Curriculum -- It's Amazing." Loudoun Times Mirror [Leesburg] 18 Mar. 1954. Print.
[18] Hatrick, Edgar. Interview by Javier Pierrend. Summer 2012. 
[19] Exline, Matthew. "We Have Been Waiting Too Long," Civil Rights and the Death of Segregation in Loudoun County, Virginia. Thesis. Patrick Henry College, 2010. Print.
[20] School History. Loudoun County High School: Student Handbook. Ibid.
[21] "Our History." Douglass School. Loudoun County Public Schools. Web.
[22] School History. Loudoun County High School: Student Handbook. Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Lord Loudoun 1976 Yearbook. Vol. 22. 1976. Print.
[25] Time Capsule. May 1976. Plaque. LCHS Front Lawn, Leesburg, VA.
[26] Jelonek, A.J. "Loudoun County High School: Flag Controversy." My Summer with Loudoun Schools. Blogger, 15 May 2012. Web.
[27] Loudoun County High School Blueprints. N.d. On file in the Loudoun County Public Schools' Construction Department Office.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Helderman, Rosalind S., and Maria Glod. "2 Students Charged With Arson; Loudoun High Fire Cost $2 Million." The Washington Post [Washington, D.C.] 16 Feb. 2002, Final Edition ed., B01. Print.
[30] Lord Loudoun 2002 Yearbook. Vol. 48. 2002. Print.
[31] "Local Graduations." The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 27 June 2004. Web.
[32] Hayes Large Architects, LLP. 2008 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture: Loudoun County High School. Leesburg, VA. 2008. PDF.
[33] Morton, Margaret. "The Signatures of Loudoun: New & Old Recognized For Design Excellence." Leesburg Today, 7 June 2013. Web.

Other Sources:
Lord Loudoun LCHS Yearbooks 1955 - 2011
Microfilm newspapers at the Balch Library
Friends of the Thomas Balch Library Website
Blueprints from LCPS Construction Department Office
LCPS Annual Report LCPS History 2001/2002 by Wayde Byard
Common Local Knowledge
Alma Mater from Lord Loudoun 1955 Yearbook