Tribute to the County-Wide League

Tribute to the County-Wide League. . , It started here at the "Leesburg Training School" on Union Street in Leesburg. Black students from all over the County attended this school., For years delegations of Black parents and patrons met with the School Board to request a new high school building, an expanded curriculum, and additional teachers. Action was postponed or refused on the grounds that funds were not available. In the absence of progress with an all-white County School Board, the consequence was a hardening of attitudes on both sides., Gertrude Alexander, the Supervisor of African American teachers, recommended that all groups and delegations, especially the elementary school parent teacher associations, coordinate their efforts and work under the umbrella of a County-Wide League. In the 1930's County-Wide Leagues of Black PTA's were created all over Virginia challenging school segregation. The Loudoun County-Wide League formed in November of 1938.,

Box 302 , Leesburg, Virginia. , November 12, 1938., Dear Parents and Teachers:, Please accept my deep appreciation for the way you cooperated in making our first County-Wide meeting a success., This first gesture is only a beginning of the many worthwhile things we hope to do this year to make our community a better place in which to love. As. Mr. Henderson told us - "our duty as citizens is to provide the best educational facilities possible for our children". This, as you know, makes for better community living., We know that by working together toward this end our rewards will be measured not by the outside manifestations but by the attitudes and ideals. , officers of Community League. President, Mr. John Wanzer, Middleburg, Va. . Vice-president, Mrs. Elizabeth Quizenberry, Leesburg, Va. . 2nd vice-president, Mrs. Annie Ferrell, Waterford, Va. . Secretary, Mr. C. H. Willis, Aldie, Va. . Assistant Secretary, Mrs. E. Sanford, Hamilton, Va. . Treasurer, Mrs. Irene Roberts, Leesburg, Va. . Chaplin, Rev. Williams, Leesburg, Va. . Publicity, Miss E. O. Harris, Leesburg, Va.

, The primary goals of the League were securing a decent secondary school building, obtaining State accreditation, and providing bus transportation., Membership was open to those interested in improving the quality of education for African American students. The main reason the School Board gave for not building a new high school was the lack of suitable land. One of the first official acts of the League was to locate a site. With money raised by the elementary PTAs and groups such as the Loudoun Training School's Happy Pals Club, plus $6.00 yearly membership dues, the Trustees raised $1,400 and secured the remaining $2,600 by a vendors lien to be paid in equal installments over the next 10 years and purchased the 8-acres on the outskirts of Town., William S. Gibbons , 1864-1954 , Mr. Gibbons lived in Leesburg as early as 1880. He worked as a groom in a stable in 1910, and in the 1930's as a chauffeur for Lalla H. White and her daughter (Jane) Elizabeth White at Selma in Leesburg. Mr. Gibbons bid on the eight acres of land. Douglass now sits, on August 20, 1932, at a sale conducted on the courthouse lawn. The property officially conveyed to him on October 12, 1932. The County-Wide League obtained the property from Mr. Gibbons November 4, 1939. Negotiations were held at night to keep the sale secret., William N. Hall , 1890-1958 , Mr. Hall was born in Middleburg in 1890. He owned a very successful contracting business, Hall and Sons, Inc., which employed many in the community. They constructed projects in Middleburg including a bank, drugstore, and Shiloh Baptist Church. His company also built a wing on Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg and provided construction and renovation work on several monuments and historic properties in the county., After various delays, the School Board eventually approved the site that would become Douglass High School. In a deed dated December 16, 1940, the eight-acre tract was sold for $1 to the County School Board of Loudoun County with the stipulation that it be "used for the benefit of the Negro public school children as an athletic field and as the location of a public Negro school and other improvements to be constructed thereon., By January 1941, the School Board associated bids for building the new school. At the February 19th meeting, the sealed bids were opened. William N. Hall, the contractor who had secured the loan for the County-Wide League, lost out to the Taylor Manufacturing Company of Farmville, Virginia with a low bid of $35,438. By March the loans had been approved and the construction contracts signed. The Colonial Revival-style brick building consisted of four classrooms, a library, the principal's office, a combined gym and auditorium and two lavatories. At the request of the community, the school was named Douglass High School in honor of Frederick Douglass the famous abolitionist., Aside from desks, the School Board supplied little else. Again, the County-Wide League and other members of the coalition began serious fundraising. They purchased curtains for the stage and front windows, folding chairs for the auditorium, a piano, books for the library, miscellaneous equipment, and supplies., In January 1942, Douglass High School received a Certificate of Accreditation for the 1941-1942 School Year.,

Timeline , . Nov 1938 The County-Wide League (CWL) forms , . Nov 4, 1939 Sale and down payment of $1,400 for the property , . Dec 1939 William N. Hall secures a $2,600 loan for clear title of the property , . Feb 1940 CWL secures the assistance of Charles Hamilton Houston, Washington, DC Attorney , . Mar 16, 1940 5 Page Letter from Houston to School Superintendent outlining building violations and educational inequities , . Mar 24, 1940 Loudoun Branch of the NAACP is formed; Marie Medley Howard appointed first President , . Dec 16, 1940 CWL transfers the property to the School Board for $1 , . Feb. 19, 1941 Taylor Manufacturing Co. awarded contract to school board , . Sept. 3, 1941 First Day of School , . Jan 1942 Douglass High School receives accreditation