Oak Grove School

Oak Grove School was originally a one-room log building on the grounds of Oak Grove Baptist Church. Between 1923 and 1924, for the sum of $3,000, a new three-room school was built on the same site. It was one of many community schools created throughout the region and state to help educate and train African Americans. The school was a practical training school that provided students with instruction in basic skills, trades, farming, and home economics, and older students helped teach material to the rest of the class. Later, it served as a segregated elementary school for the community. Its educational opportunities were supported by many in the community as well as by the Rev. James Solomon Russell, founder of Saint Paul's Normal and Industrial School, later known as Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, who often visited to offer support, encouragement, and help.

Virginia · United States