Rocky Branch School

Rocky Branch School. Sutherland, Virginia. , In 1911 a group of Dinwiddie County's African American residents established the Rocky Branch School in Sutherland. The school was a typical two-room schoolhouse. It had been moved from its original location across the Ocran Methodist Church on U.S. Route 460, about two miles east of this site. Reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught in first through seventh grades. Each school day began with a short devotion. Students were required to recite Bible verses and sing patriotic and gospel songs daily., Transportation was not provided to the school's students, resulting in many boys and girls walking four or five miles to school each day. Despite this challenge, attendance was always high, and a large percentage of the school's students continued their education through high school and college. The school's heating system consisted of a large potbellied stove in the room for first through third grades and a long cast-iron stove for fourth through seventh grades. The sixth- and seventh-grade boys had the responsibility of keeping the wood dry by stacking it under the school. During winter, students often had to huddle around the stoves to keep warm during their lessons. Sometimes the teachers would bring soup for the students so they could have a warm meal at lunch., The school's wooden floors were oiled with used motor oil to help settle the dust from outside. Water was supplied by a deep well pump located on the right front side of the school, with separate facilities for males and females., The school closed in 1963, but the building stands as a symbol of education to all.