Site Type: Educational Site

Historical Significance:

Stubbs School was constructed during the 1930s for African-American children in Spotsylvania County. The school building is typical of many one-room schools built throughout the county, beginning in 1870 with the establishment of the public education system. This school was originally located on Stubbs Bridge Road, but in 1999 the One-Room School Committee, formed through efforts of the Spotsylvania County Black History Committee, purchased and relocated the building to its present site in Spotsylvania Courthouse.

The building remains largely unchanged since its days as a school for African-American children. It consists of an entry vestibule, a small cloakroom, and single classroom where children in grades 1-7 studied together. The building had no plumbing or electricity, and a cast iron stove provided the only heat. In its original setting, the school yard contained an outhouse and a dusty play lot.

A typical school day included prayers, lessons in spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and geography, breaks for lunch and recess, and chores. Former students remember playing sandlot baseball at recess as well as performing necessary tasks like hauling water, collecting firewood, and sweeping the schoolroom.

The School Board closed Stubbs School in 1943. The last African-American one-room school in Spotsylvania County closed in 1953 due to school consolidation.

Physical Description:

The One-Room School House Committee conducts an ongoing project to restore and interpret Stubbs School. The site currently includes a plaza with interpretive signage, a reconstruction of the two-seater privy, and a viewing deck from which visitors can see inside the building. The interior of the building is not open for tours. The deck is handicapped accessible.