Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum – Smithfield, Virginia - Atlas Obscura
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Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum

Smithfield, Virginia

This one-room schoolhouse was revitalized in 2007 as a museum focusing on the education of Black children during the early 20th-century.  

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Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
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The Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum, a historic Rosenwald Schoolhouse, was originally constructed in 1932 as an addition to the Christian Home School.

Julius Rosenwald, a former president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, contributed $4.3 million along with $4.7 million raised by Black communities to build over 5,000 schools across the south for the education of Black children. 

The Christian Home School was moved to its current location in historic Smithfield in February 2005 to be renovated and opened as a museum. This was done in conjunction with Smithfield’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown. The Schoolhouse Museum was opened to the public in May 2007.

Know Before You Go

The museum is open Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 12:00 pm to 4:00 p.m., and other times by appointment. 

schools black history museums
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