Frederick Douglass Elementary School

   In Loudoun County, it's more likely to see a school go up than go down. For the last few weeks, construction crews have been demolishing the Douglass Support Facility, formally known as Douglass Elementary School. It was a small school. Basically, the layout was one long bending hallway with a Multi-purpose room jutting out.

   Douglass Elementary opened in 1958 as a segregated black school, four years after Brown vs. Board of Education. The previous Leesburg black elementary school was built in the 1880's and wasn't in the best condition nor up to then-contemporary standards (It's still on Union Street, but I'll get back to that in another post soon). Douglass desegregated the 1968-1969 school year, along with the rest of the county schools, and operated until 1982. Since then, it's been a support facility used by LCPS.

   Loudoun County's school population continues to grow, averaging about 2,800 more students each year. One of the growing areas, Leesburg, needed a new elementary school. With most support offices now located in other buildings, Douglass's prime location made it a viable option to build a new school on the property. Another factor is the property is already owned by LCPS, so they could save money not buying land parcels.

  As LCPS tradition, the new school will be named after its predecessor as Frederick Douglass Elementary School. It will be the second 2-story prototype elementary school in the county. It opens Fall 2012. Get ready for a new school in one year!


   The previous picture was taken on June 30th, on Day 2 of demolition. Below, the next three were taken on July 6, Day 5 (They don't work weekends/holidays). It would usually take a shorter time to demo a building of that size, but they're sorting out the different materials in order to make the demolition process as green as possible.

Here's two from a visit today, almost gone

And here's some pictures I took last summer of the building.

   On February 8th, the Loudoun County Government website sent out on LCPS's behalf a news release "calling upon Loudoun’s citizens for any historical documents, pictures, or memorabilia that could be used to preserve the legacy of the Frederick Douglass Elementary School. "  Now, the deadline has passed, but the school system is still accepting items!! Please send stuff in if you have anything (I have).

Sources:

Desegregation in Loudoun County Public Schools, 1954-1970

LCPS CIPs

New Elementary School is Set to Be Built on Historic Site

(Here is an extra. I'm not going to post any interior demo shots, but that person has posted one. If you're curious, enjoy!)