Georgetown in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Wormley School

Georgetown African American Historic Landmark

— 2020 —

Wormley School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 23, 2023

1. Wormley School Marker

Inscription. James Wormley, born a free African American in 1819, worked in his family's Hackney carriage business and became a prominent businessman and advocate for education. Georgetown spent $70 on African American education in 1862. After the war, the Republican-controlled Congress ordered the town to educate African Americans. In 1871 Wormley persuaded Congress to fund one of the first public schools for African Americans in the District of Columbia, the Sumner School. The Wormley School opened in 1885, a year after his death. Martha Louise Pope Nash and other residents were faculty members. The school remained segregated until it closed in 1952. The building later served the learning disabled before closing permanently in 1994. In 2008, it was converted to condominiums. Wormley owned a ten-acre farm at 3530 Van Ness Street, with a horse-racing track at Reno Road and Van Ness Street. He operated five boarding houses in the 1500 block of I Street. Wormley's Hotel, located at 750 15th Street NW, hosted secret meetings during the 1876 election which allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to win the presidency in exchange for federal troops'

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withdrawal from the South. The withdrawal ended reconstruction, meant to establish equal rights under the law and economic equality, and altered the fates of generations of Southern African Americans.

Erected 2020 by Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project; courtesy of Andrena D. and Jawanzah M. Crockett.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #19 Rutherford B. Hayes series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1819.

Location. 38° 54.36′ N, 77° 4.014′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Georgetown. It is on Prospect Street Northwest just east of Bank Alley Northwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3326 Prospect St NW, Washington DC 20007, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Tidewater,

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 23, 2023

2. Wormley School Marker

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Let the Good Times Roll (within shouting distance of this marker); Houses With A Prospect (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); President John F. Kennedy (about 300 feet away); The Last Home of Stephen Bloomer Balch, D.D. (about 300 feet away); Halcyon House (about 300 feet away); a different marker also named Halcyon House (about 400 feet away); Forrest Marbury House (about 400 feet away); Francis Scott Key Park … a place to reflect (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northwest Washington.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Francis Scott Key Park (was about 500 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Credits. This page was last revised on April 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,482 times since then and 224 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 23, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.