Laurel Grove School Museum one of the earliest African-American schools founded by local African-American freemen and women in Fairfax County Virginia.
Return to a time and place when freedom and former slaves who desired to educate their children, literally created the school themselves. Freed slaves built this one room schoolhouse in the early 1880's. It served the black children of Franconia until 1932 as the Laurel Grove Colored School. The school survives as the only remaining African American schoolhouse in Northern Virginia. It now stands as a living museum, restored to reclaim its heritage and bring to life its history. Visit to experience a day in the life of a Laurel Grove student, circa 1920.
The following statement guides the Laurel Grove School Association for both its day-to-day mission and its vision of the future for the Laurel Grove School:
The Association is committed to restoring, preserving, and maintaining the Laurel Grove School as an important historical site and museum in Northern Virginia and as an enduring national educational resource for understanding the post-slavery black experience embodied in the heritage of the school.
