St. Euphemia's School

St. Euphemia's School. . , This building is the former St. Euphemia's School, a Catholic School founded by St. Joseph's parish. It served children, grades 1-8, from 1878-1956. The school was operated and instructed by the Daughters of Charity. St. Euphemia's was a tuition-based school, however, students who could not afford to pay attended for free., Until 1954, in Maryland and other states, Black and White public school students were educated separately due to segregation laws. These segregation laws did not apply to private schools. St. Euphemia's School began admitting Black students in 1886, teaching the Black and White students in separate classrooms. In 1944, the classrooms were integrated., Since 1896, local governments were required to provide "separate but equal" schools for Black and White students. No Frederick County government-sponsored Black school is known to have existed in Emmitsburg when St. Euphemia began admitting Black students in 1886. An Emmitsburg attorney, Vernon Sebold successfully appealed to the State Assembly in the 1920s to request that Frederick County government pay the tuition for Black students attending St. Euphemia., The 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court led to the national desegregation of public schools and was a major turning point in the 20th Century Civil Rights Movement for Black Americans. St. Euphemia's integrated its classrooms 10 years earlier., A Student's Memories , Prior to the 1960s, Black citizens in Maryland were limited in where they could shop, dine or use public facilities. Despite St. Euphemia's admission of Black students, discrimination existed., Barbara VanBrakle Weedon, a Black student, recalls her experience at St. Euphemia's during that era in a 2004 interview at age 69., Transcript excerpt from 2004 audio interview conducted by Sister Eleanor Casey. , We were all in the one room no matter what grade we were. And we were not allowed to drink from the water fountain. And then we weren't allowed to use the restrooms. There was an outhouse outside that we used...we couldn't be in any of [the] school plays. And when we made our First Communion and Confirmation we always walked together at the end of the line. So we were separated. But as kids you never thought [about] it....", "My father was always so grateful because Sister Beata [teacher] was determined. She had such respect for the children that she was determined that they were worth something. That they were going to learn." , Barbara VanBrakle Weedon (1934-2021) served as Executive Assistant to the President of Mount St. Mary's University for 16 years, retiring in 1996. She was a lifelong Catholic and a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Emmitsburg., [Photo captions, left to right, read] , . St. Euphemia's School classroom, circa 1950s., . Students from St. Euphemia's School attending mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Emmitsburg, MD, circa 1950s., . Mrs. Nettie Hunt, sitting on steps of Supreme Court in 1954, explaining to her daughter Nikie the meaning of the Supreme Court's decision banning school segregation., . The building on the left was built in about 1878 and served as the school and the residence of the sister who taught there. Black and White students were taught in separate classrooms. In 1887, school records show that 177 students attended the school. 137 were White and 40 were Black., . The building on the right was completed in 1892 and only the school's White students were instructed here. In 1944, St. Euphemia's integrated its classrooms. In 1956, St. Euphemia's consolidated with St. Anthony's School to form Mother Seton School and closed.