St. John School--Rosenwald Funded

The St. John School, built here in 1922-1923, 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 Rosenwald Fund contributed $700 for the St. John School, while local residents donated $500 and Albemarle County provided $1,300. The two-classroom school closed during the 1950s and was later purchased by St. John Baptist Church.