Last Day

   Today was my last day of my internship. It was very bittersweet. I met a lot of nice people, had a lot of fun, and, of course, learned a lot. I hope everyone who has read this blog has as well.

   And now, it's time to let the stats roll!

   In total there were 121 page views. My second blog post "Frederick Douglass Elementary School" actually had the most page views. People stumbled onto my page from search keywords such as "frederick douglass elementary school leesburg va," "layout for new frederick douglass elementary school leesburg," and "frederick douglass elementary school location leesburg"

   Most of the viewers were from the USA. 3 people from Germany visited the blog (Guten Tag!), One person from South Korea found the page, and then one day, five people/views from the UK stumbled onto my page for some reason.

   The most common operating system was Windows (85%). Mac was in second place with 8%, while the rest (Mac, Blackberry, Other Unix, Android, and iPod) were under 10% each. The most common internet browser was Internet Explorer (57%). Firefox was at 28%, Chrome was at 10%, then Mobile, Safari, and Mobile Safari made up less than 3%.

    I do have a couple of blogs in draft, and they will (hopefully) be posted, just not on a schedule. Again, thank you for joining me.

Lincoln Elementary School

   This blog has mostly covered schools that are no longer schools. In my defense, those schools have a lot of history, with twists and turns in their lives. But Loudoun County Public Schools still does have many old operating schools that have just as much history, so I'm going to switch it up today.

   Here is the elementary school I'm crushing on, Lincoln Elementary School. It's old, it's small, it's wonderful. It was love at first sight.

   Lincoln was the first state accredited high school in Loudoun County. It opened in 1908. For a time, it served all grades. When it became overcrowded, the elementary school students were moved to an older school building.

Lincoln High School, 1908 - 1926
Framed photo displayed at the school.

   On April Fool's Day, 1926, there was a fire that burned down the building. The school building was rebuilt to the present building and opened that same year in time for fall classes.

Lincoln School, present day.
Framed photo displayed at the school.

   In 1954, Lincoln was one of the four regional high schools that became elementary schools with the opening of the consolidated Loudoun County High School.

   Lincoln has remained virtually unchanged since then. Two cottages have been added outside the school, security cameras and computers have been added, but other than those, it remains a charming school establishment

The main room/gym/cafeteria/auditorium

Behind the stage is the Library, but also a movable wall
(hasn't been moved in years) so you can extend your stage space

I love the ceiling!

The backside of the school

Lincoln's schoolyard (I visited the school last winter)

  

   Unfortunately, it's one of our county's schools (along with Aldie and Middleburg) that have consistently low enrollment numbers, and it's sometimes suggested to close it down. I worry about it, but I'm glad for the time being that it continues to be open for education.

Sources:
Lincoln ES bookmark - 1926 Fire news article
Lincoln ES 2010 - 2011 handbook
Loudoun Times-Mirror - 6/13/1954 "Lincoln School Closing Marks End of an Era" by Howard T. Brown
Framed historic photos from Lincoln ES

Union Street School

What do you call a school with at least six different names?

Let's count the ways:
Loudoun Training School
Leesburg Training School
Loudoun County High School
Douglass Elementary School
Loudoun County Training School
Leesburg Industrial School

   I myself have given it a few more nicknames, calling it The white Black School on Union Street, or just plain Union Street.
   It's a headache, so say the least. (For this blog's purposes, I'm going to call it Union Street)

   Welcome to Union Street. In 1962, a brick admin building was built on the property, but before that, it was the site of Leesburg's black school. Let's first walk around the site.

The one story wing was built at a later date, I don't know when.

Only the windows on the front aren't boarded up.

The backyard, sporting great views of the cemetery

   Union Street was built approximately 1884. A Training School (as one of its names) was a derogatory term applied to black schools, saying it wasn't really a school but a training school, not in the same league as a white school. It was Loudoun's only black school that taught secondary education when it began offering the level in the 1910's (which is probably around the time it received the name Loudoun County High School. How does it compare with the originally white-only Loudoun County High School of 1954?)

   The building had no indoor bathrooms. There was an outhouse (now demolished). There was no cafeteria, no auditorium, and no library. It housed five classrooms. Its school equipment, especially for science, was lacking. The school was also a death trap.

"...the window opening on the fire escape does not even have sash cords, and the oil soaked floor and open oil drum under the steps leading to the second floor constitute a veritable death trap in case of fire."
                                      - Charles H. Houston letter to Superintendent Emerick, 3/16/1940

   The parents pushed and pushed for a new school. When Douglass HS opened in 1941, the high school students moved out...but the elementary school students stayed. Union Street was renamed Douglass ES. The conditions did not improve. In 1958, when the new Douglass ES was built, this facility finally closed as a school.

   For a few years, it was used by the National Guard, during which time toilets were installed in the basement. I don't know when they moved out or much about what Union Street was used for afterwards. Currently, the building is mostly empty, being used for a little bit of storage.

   One of my goals this summer working here was to get into this building. And it happened! Would you like to take a look inside?

Look! Electricity! It has life!

The Basement bathroom

Storage of old things

It was surprisingly clean in this room

Old Lights

   On the second floor:

A close-up on the door: "A little shove will do it"

   And, the lovely staircase:

   I like it. It's sad to see it like this. I wish a use could be found for this. It's sort of away from the epicenter of downtown Leesburg, so it's not in the best spot in the world (plus, it's next to the cemetery, that's always a bonus, right?). It would need a big renovation if it was ever to be used publicly again. I know what I'd do with it. Why not turn it into a LCPS history museum and offices? Blue sky idea, but it's historic enough and it doesn't have to be big.

   In 2003 during a school board meeting, it was recommended to give future consideration to Union Street in a "lease agreement to the County of Loudoun or Town of Leesburg for governmental/historic use." I don't know what was said or what actions were taken; or it is possible nothing happened, that it was forgotten about. The building sits.

   Geraline Johnson (a Union Street teacher who is still alive) said in a recent interview about Douglass ES (1958) that she would like if the building was used like the Second Street one-room schoolhouse in Waterford, a place where children could learn how school used to be and about segregation. Unlike one room schoolhouses, Union Street has five rooms, which could give it multiple uses.

   So if you have a couple of million of dollars to spare...
What would you do with Union Street?


Sources:
Geraline J Johnson interview (2011) for Frederick Douglass ES
Douglass HS 50th Anniversary booklet (1991)
"Piedmont Stories: Leesburg Teacher's Career Spanned Two Eras" from the Washington Post, 9/20/2009
"High Schools Once Flourished Across Area"  - Eugene Scheel, Washington Post, 9/21/2003
Charles H. Houston letter to Superintendent Emerick, 3/16/1940

A special thank you to Sara Howard O'Brien!!

Whoops!

I took a very relaxing break from the blog.

Unfortunately, I'm going back to college next week, so this is my last week at LCPS, and the last week I'll be posting regularly. I don't know what my plans are, but I might have a few blog posts that I'll post at a later date. It's seemed like it's been such a short time!

In other news, Borders Bookstore is closing:

 And... their Invisibility Cloaks are 20% off.

Leesburg High School / North Street

   This story starts with the Leesburg Academy. The Leesburg Academy was an all-boy's private school that started in 1779. When they gave their Academy building to the Loudoun County (still standing, now part of the Court building complex), they built a new 3 story school building in 1873. Due to public education (started in Virginia in 1870) being offered, the Academy did not do very well, so in 1879, they allowed their building to be used for public schools. (It was finally deeded to LCPS in 1914).

   In 1893, the academy building burned down. The exterior walls were left standing, so it was rebuilt, but its height was reduced to two stories. The school soon became overcrowded, so it later expanded. In 1909, along with the Waterford and Lincoln schools, Leesburg became a four-year state accredited high school, the first three in Loudoun County.

   The school building became even more crowded, having to house its ninth teacher in another building. A campaign was created to push for a new school. In 1923, the old school building was demolished to build a brand new, two-story building (not including the basement). Unfortunately, two years later, the school was destroyed by a fire on February 2, 1925. It was believed to have started from the furnace area. School continued in temporary locations until the present building opened January 25, 1926. It was built with only one story (not including the basement level) to make it "practically fireproof." As a testament to that, it has not burned down since.
 

Historic main entrance to the building

   Leesburg's high school was finally living a much more peaceful life. As with all of Loudoun's regional high schools, it served children of all grades. In 1941, it received its first expansion. The wing behind the Auditorium was added, changing the school's shape from a lower case "h" to a capital "H".

  Leesburg lost its high school status with the opening of Loudoun County High School in 1954. It then became a elementary school, serving grades Kindergarten through 7th grade. A 1962 expansion built a new kitchen, but otherwise, Leesburg had a relatively uneventful 17 years.
 

   In 1971, the building ceased being used as a school altogether. It became the School Board Annex Building. Starting in the 90's it received the nickname "North Street," after the road in which the building was located on. The original front doors (only accessible by stairs) were sealed shut, and became a decorative feature. The superintendent's office was located in the room where the 1962 kitchen was previously.

Plaque honoring the building's school history

   As the school system grew, North Street did not. The building became very cramped for its tenants. School Administration was also scattered among three other main facilities: Douglass Support Facility, Union Street Admin Facility, and the Round Hill Center.

   In 2005, the Admin Building on Education Court in Ashburn opened up. Administration vacated the building for their new, roomier premises. That same year, voters approved a bond to convert Leesburg into a Senior Center.

Far side of the building.
Auditorium is in the taller section on the right.

This brings us up to the present. The building's interior was gutted mostly throughout 2010, and now the Center is getting ready for to open up this fall. (I always get a chuckle, thinking the same people who graduated there as seniors are now coming back to use it as seniors again!)

Auditorium (July 30, 2010)

   I've watched what they have been doing for the past year, and they have been doing a great job, both overall and history-wise. While they're getting rid of the old stage for more room, they are incorporating the proscenium arch. They also got rid of the windows that were there and are now going with windows that look like the original windows!

Before (July 22, 2010)

After (June 17, 2011)

   They are doing a wonderful job. I could not be happier with what they are doing. They are rejuvenating the building while keeping its history. It is the renovation any old school should get. It really means something to history-lovers and the people who went there. My college (Christopher Newport University) has demolished so much of its 1960's buildings for new ones that most people consider the school to be a newly-formed one. I truly wonder how the college's alumni feels.

   When Leesburg Senior Center opens this fall, please swing by North Street and visit. It's going to be wonderful...

   For more information on the building's recent transformation, check out the Talk Loudoun: School Spirit article on the renovation.

Update: In 2012, I was able to look around the newly opened Senior Center of Leesburg -- check it out for the continuation of this story!


Sources:

LHS 1927 yearbook
LES 1965 yearbook
Talk Loudoun: School Spirit
CIPs
Blueprints
"New School Building Destroyed By Fire" The Blue Ridge Herald, February 5, 1925
"School Advisory Committee Meetings" Loudoun Times-Mirror, February 19, 1925
Town of Leesburg: Antebellum Leesburg
"100 Years of Loudoun" Washington Post, December 26, 1999

Monday Memories - Leesburg High School 1950

 This week, we're tackling "The Ketoctin," Leesburg High School's 1950 yearbook. Leesburg High School is also known as Leesburg Elementary School and the North Street Admin Building.

On the front steps. The steps are still there, now just for historical reasons.

Tomorrow I will give you a full run-down on this facility.