Near Haymarket in Prince William County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Antioch-McCrae African American School
Leopold's Preserve
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 2, 2021
1. Antioch-McCrae African American School Marker
The Antioch-McCrae School was a one-story brick veneered cinder block schoolhouse located in the northwestern portion of the property. The two-room school was one of 21 Prince William schools built for African American students. It was larger than other schools, but it was remote. It opened in 1953 when several of the small colored schools in the Gainesville District were combined and continued as a colored schoolhouse until 'freedom of choice' became the desegregation policy of the Prince William County schools in 1965. Beginning in 1966, and continuing until the school building was abandoned in 1982, the Gainesville School District kindergarten and first grade classes were held at the Antioch-McCrae School.
This small, rural county school representing the African Americans and white families who lived and worked side by side in the last century and before. Their legacy of community continues here.
[Sidebar:]
Fannie W. Fitzgerald, a teacher at Antioch-McCrae School, was one of the first African Americans to teach in a school for white children after Prince William County Public Schools were integrated. Fitzgerald, who was one of the Courageous Four — a group of African American teachers who integrated Prince William County classrooms — was at the forefront of desegregation in the County. She
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1953.
Location. 38° 48.954′ N, 77° 40.537′ W. Marker is near Haymarket, Virginia, in Prince William County. It can be reached from Thoroughfare Road 0.4 miles south of John Marshall Highway (Virginia Route 55), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 16311 Thoroughfare Rd, Broad Run VA 20137, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area, in Northern Virginia, and in the Piedmont. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Water Fowl And Their Habitat (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Thoroughfare Colored/North Fork School (about 500 feet away); The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap & Chapman's Mill (about 500 feet away); Farm Life (approx. 0.2 miles away); Free People Of Color At Thoroughfare (approx. 0.3 miles away); Aldo Leopold (approx. 1.2 miles away); On Hallowed Ground (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Battle of Buckland Mills (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Haymarket.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 2, 2021
2. Antioch-McCrae African American School Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,321 times since then and 78 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 2, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
