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

Shady Grove School

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 9, 2021

1. Shady Grove School Marker

Inscription. The Orange County School Board acquired five acres here in 1894 and established Shady Grove School for African American students. With contributions from African American patrons, the county erected a new two-room frame building here ca. 1923. Although the school received no money from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, its design reflected the architectural influence of that program, which helped construct thousands of schools for African Americans across the rural South. Shady Grove, which served grades 1-7, closed in 1954, when the brick Lightfoot Elementary opened six miles northeast. The frame building was restored in 2007. The Orange County schools were desegregated in 1967-68.

Erected 2015 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number JJ-32.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Architecture • Education. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1894.

Location. 38° 10.169′ N, 78° 0.714′ W. Marker is near Orange, Virginia, in Orange County. It is on Piney Woods Road (Virginia Route 677) 0.2 miles north of Monrovia Road (Route 612), on the right when traveling north

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. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 21070 Piney Woods Road, Orange VA 22960, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Virginia

and in the Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

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 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Clayton's Store (approx. 5.2 miles away); Bloomsbury (approx. 5.6 miles away); Isabella Lightfoot Training School (approx. 5.6 miles away); Bibb's Crossroads (approx. 6.1 miles away); Campaign of Second Manassas (approx. 6.1 miles away); Elder John Leland (approx. 6.1 miles away); Lee's Headquarters (approx. 6.2 miles away); Little Zion Baptist Church (approx. 6.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orange.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 9, 2021

2. Shady Grove School Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on April 11, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 11, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 582 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 11, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.