Stubbs School Marker

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Spotsylvania in Spotsylvania County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Stubbs School

By Kevin W., November 18, 2007

1. Stubbs School Marker

Inscription. The Stubbs School is typical of African-American public schools scattered throughout the county between 1870 and 1952.

This modest one-room school opened in the early 1930s. The building lacked electricity and plumbing. Its only heat source was a cast iron stove. The school’s sparse furnishings included a slate blackboard and an assortment of homemade desks and benches. The typical day began with prayers followed by lessons in spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar and geography with a break for lunch and recess.

Over 30 children in grades 1 – 7 filled the classroom each September. By spring, daily attendance averaged 15 students. The School Board closed Stubbs School for several sessions during the late 1930s and early 1940s due to low attendance before closing it for good in 1943. In 1952 all African-American one-room schools closed and the students transferred to the newly constructed John J. Wright Consolidated School.

Caption of map): The Stubbs School was relocated to Spotsylvania Courthouse from Stubbs bridge Road in 1999 in an effort led by the Spotsylvania Black History Committee. In 1952, John J. Wright Consolidated School opened on the former site of the Snell Training School. The school was integrated

Stubbs School and Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Kevin W., November 18, 2007

2. Stubbs School and Marker

in 1968 and is known today as the John J. Wright Middle School.

Caption of portrait, upper right): John J. Wright (1863 – 1931), a Spotsylvania County native, attended a one-room school and later graduated from the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. Mr. Wright devoted his life to improving educational opportunities for African-Americans. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first African-American high school in the county, the Snell Training School which opened in 1913.

Caption of lower left picture): Children playing in front of a school at Massaponax.

Erected by Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and the County of Spotsylvania.

Location. 38° 11.716′ N, 77° 35.225′ W. Marker is in Spotsylvania, Virginia, in Spotsylvania County. Marker is on Courthouse Road (Route 208), on the right when traveling south. Click for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8722 Courthouse Rd, Spotsylvania VA 22553, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Education in Spotsylvania County (here, next to this marker); Forever young, (within shouting distance of this marker); Zion Methodist Church (about 500 feet away, in a direct line); Booth Hall (approx. 0.3 miles away); Spotsylvania County Jail (approx. 0.4 miles away); Lee’s Headquarters (approx. 0.4 miles away); Battle of Spotsylvania (approx. 0.4 miles away); Spotsylvania County Honor Roll (approx. 0.4 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Spotsylvania.

Stubbs School Interior Photo, Click for full size

By Kevin W., November 18, 2007

3. Stubbs School Interior

The school’s sparse furnishings included a slate blackboard and an assortment of homemade desks and benches.
Photo is taken through the front window.

Also see . . . African American Heritage Sites - Stubbs School. The building remains largely unchanged since its days as a school for African-American children. It consists of an entry vestibule, a small cloakroom, and single classroom where children in grades 1-7 studied together. The building had no plumbing or electricity, and a cast iron stove provided the only heat. In its original setting, the school yard contained an outhouse and a dusty play lot. (Submitted on November 20, 2007, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.)