Salem School

Salem School. Red Oak, Virginia. , After the Civil War, in the Red Oak area of Charlotte County, many freed slaves were welcomed to worship at Antioch Baptist Church, a traditionally white church. The Antioch congregation helped raise money to build Salem Baptist Church in 1865, specifically for their African American neighbors. Around 1900 the trustees of Salem Baptist Church deeded a half-acre of land to the Bacon District School Board for the purpose of building a schoolhouse for African American students. A one-room school was erected, funded partly by the school board, but also by the league of students' parents., The need to improve rural African American education was emphasized in a survey in 1921 for public schools in Virginia and, as a result, the original school building was abandoned and the current Salem School building was constructed on the site. The $4,500 facility consisted of three classrooms in which grades 1-7 were taught. There was also a cafeteria, an entrance hall, and a cloakroom. The school was in operation until 1959, at which time the property reverted to the ownership of Salem Baptist Church. More recently, the church deeded the property to the Salem School Preservation Committee, which operates it as a nonprofit community center. Salem School was placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1998 and is now used occasionally by Salem Baptist Church for gatherings., [Caption:] , Replacing an outdated log school, Salem School was constructed ca. 1924 at a total cost of $4,500, paid with local dollars and monies from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. A philanthropist and the president of Sears, Roebuck, and Co., Mr. Rosenwald authorized the use of funds for the building of schools for African Americans all over the South.