Manassas School #8

Manassas School #8. Lucasville School. , By 1883, Prince William County operated eight public schools for African-American children. That year, the Lucas community successfully petitioned the Manassas District School Board for an elementary school. Lucasville School was designated as #8 and operated in rented space until ca. 1886, when the new one-room school opened on a site one-half mile from this location., Patrons gradually furnished the school. Children in grades one through six attended. Over time, many African American men and women taught at Lucasville School. The school closed in 1926 and students transferred to the Brown School in Manassas. The property was sold at auction. A local farmer moved the building during the 1930s and used it as a shed., The Community , Lucasville was settled by freed slaves and named for the Lucas family. This family and other Lucasville settlers had been enslaved at the nearby Clover Hill, Bradley, Bloom Hill and Fostern plantations. By 1880, Lucasville was the largest African-American village in central Prince William County had almost 100 residents., Saving the School , When the land where Lucasville School stood was rezoned 2003, citizens and County officials acted to preserve the structure. Pulte Homes, Inc. agreed to move and restore the building and donate it to the County. The school was reconstructed and opened in 2007., [Quotation and Captions:] , …On application of school patrons for the Lucas neighborhood, a school was granted said neighborhood upon agreement that the school house and fuel be furnished by the patrons and Geo. H. Harris was appointed teacher for said school at a compensation of twenty five dollars per month… , Above and Quotation: November 14, 1883 Manassas District School Board minutes record Board authorization of a school for the Lucas community., Mrs. emma Chapman had been a slave at Clover Hill, a nearby farm owned by the Johnson family. Many Chapmans lived in this area and likely attended Lucasville School. Emma and other Chapmans are buried in a small cemetery on Godwin Road., Above: By late 2005, the school had deteriorated. Yet 20% of the original material was in good condition and used in the reconstructed building., Right: Preservation advocates produced these buttons in 2003 to raise public awareness about the Lucasville School.