Education
E MAN CIPAT ION OF T HE B O D Y A N D M I N D – TR A I N I N G “ TH E H E AD, T HE HAN D A N D TH E H E A RT” Although it was against Virginia law to teach reading and writing skills to blacks prior to the Civil War, opportunities existed in Hampton for many to learn. Before the war, Mary Peake, a free-born black woman and prominent educator, taught enslaved individuals in her home. By 1861, Mrs. Peake was teaching some 50 pupils, both children and adults. Mary Peake’s classes initially took place beneath the limbs of the Emancipation Oak. Today the tree is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.
them was the Butler School, built by and named after General Benjamin Butler, located on County Street outside the perimeter of Camp Hamilton’s former site.
As the number of enslaved people seeking asylum grew at Fort Monroe, General Butler made efforts to feed, clothe, and employ them. Schools were started at Fort Monroe, Camp Hamilton, Chesapeake Female College and in the home of former President Tyler on East Queen Street. The largest of the schools, Courtyard School, was built amid the ruins of Hampton’s Courthouse, burned in August 1861 along with almost all of the town’s buildings. By September 1861, authorities contacted Lewis Tappan of the American Missionary Association (AMA) in the North. The AMA sent Rev. Lewis Lockwood to Hampton to help the formerly enslaved, many of whom were women, children, and the elderly. Additional schools were established and hospitals were organized.
RO SENWA LD SCHO O LS IN HA M PT O N
By January 1863, the month President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was delivered, six black schools had been constructed in Hampton. Among
There were many one-room schoolhouses including The Little Red School, whose structure can be seen today adjacent to Emancipation Oak on the Hampton University campus. The building, while original, was moved from another location on campus.
The Rosenwald Foundation was set up by Julius Rosenwald, the son of an immigrant clothier, who became president of Sears Roebuck and a passionate believer in helping educate Southern black children. At the urging of Booker T. Washington, he provided funds for a pilot program involving six rural Alabama schools. When they proved to be successful, he set up the fund that eventually built thousands of schools throughout the South. Local school boards were required to raise matching funds and often did so by donating land and labor to build the schools.
B UCK RO E SCHO O L In 1896 the Elizabeth City County Chesapeake District School Board purchased a 1.05-acre lot at the intersection of Buckroe Avenue and Old Buckroe Road. Nearby were Antioch Baptist Church and a community that lived along present-day Franktown Road. The school for first through seventh grades opened the following year. In 1920, the school board applied for funds from the Rosenwald Foundation to build a replacement school. In 1938, upgrades were initiated, including a new roof, new paint and two wash basins. In 1945, Buckroe School closed and children were bussed past their old school to the George P. Phenix School on the campus of Hampton Institute.
There were many one-room schoolhouses including The Little Red School, whose structure can be seen adjacent to Emancipation Oak on the Hampton University campus. The building, while original, was moved from another location on campus.
7
