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

Newtown (East Elkton) School

Photographed by J. J. Prats, October 7, 2017

1. Newtown (East Elkton) School Marker

Inscription. The Newtown School, built here in 1921-1922, served African American students during the segregation era. Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Co, collaborated with Booker T. washington in a school-building campaign beginning in 1912. The Rosenwald Fund, incorporated in 1917, helped build more than 5,000 schools and supporting structures for African Americans in the rural South by 1932. The Fund contributed $1,000 toward the Newtown School while local African Americans donated $872 and Rockingham County gave $2,628. The three-teacher school, the county’s last solely for black students, closed in 1965 and is the only remaining Rosenwald-funded school building in the county.

Erected 2017 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number D-44.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Charity & Public Work • Education. In addition, it is included in the Rosenwald Schools, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1922.

Location. 38° 24.894′ N, 78° 35.953′ W.

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Marker is near Elkton, Virginia, in Rockingham County. It is on Newtown Road (County Route 759) just west of Samuels Road (County Route 638), on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1296 Diamond Ln, Elkton VA 22827, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

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 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Miller-Argabright-Cover-Kite House (approx. one mile away); Adam Miller (approx. 1.1 miles away); Family and Community Life (approx. 1.1 miles away); Schools and Churches (approx. 1.1 miles away); Displacement (approx. 1.1 miles away); Making a Living on the Mountain

Newtown School and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, October 7, 2017

2. Newtown School and Marker

(approx. 1.1 miles away); Rockingham Memorial for Families Displaced (approx. 1.1 miles away); Elkton 9-11 Memorial (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Elkton.

Another marker is no longer nearby. First Settler (was approx. 1.1 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . Groups look to preserve historic school near Elkton. 2017 Associated Press article via the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “The Newtown Rosenwald school building survived, but it lost its characteristic bank of large windows and fell into disrepair over the years. It became a store for a time, but was sold for $500 and turned into an auction house. ‘A black lady owned the store and tried to get the community to buy it, but nobody wanted it because we would have used it for a rec center, and they would be drinking and dancing in it,’ Avestar Ross said. ‘Now nobody is doing nothing to it. It’s an eyesore in the community.’” (Submitted on October 8, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 21, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 8, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,182 times since then and 66 times this year. Last updated on August 21, 2024, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 8, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.