Jericho School, school in Caroline County, Virginia
Jericho School is a single-story wooden building in Caroline County with a rectangular form and a gabled roof featuring a decorative vent at the front. The interior consists of one classroom with large windows positioned at the ends and western side to provide natural light, and a blackboard mounted on the front wall for instruction.
The school was built in 1917 to educate African American children in the area, following land acquisition by school trustees in 1885. It remained in operation until 1959, when Union Elementary School opened nearby, and was inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The school served as a gathering place for the African American community in Caroline County and represented the determination of families to provide education to their children. Its simple construction and decades of use reflect how communities built their own educational spaces when institutional support was limited.
The building stands on rural property near Ruther Glen and can be viewed from the road without entering the grounds. The setting is quiet and surrounded by open fields, so visitors should plan adequate time for an unrushed visit to observe the exterior.
The building resembles schools constructed with assistance from the Julius Rosenwald Fund in design, though no records confirm this fund financed it. This architectural similarity demonstrates how widespread certain school design patterns had become for African American students during this period.
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