Rocky Branch School

Rocky Branch School (HMHTK)

Location: Sutherland, VA 23885 Dinwiddie County
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Country: United States of America
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N 37° 11.379', W 77° 34.423'

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Sutherland, Virginia

— Dinwiddie County —

In 1911 a group of Dinwiddie County's African-American residents established the Rocky Branch School in Sutherland. The school was a typical two-room schoolhouse. It had been moved from original location across from Ocran Methodist Church on U.S. Route 460 about two miles east of this site. Reading, writing and arithmetic were taught in grades one through seven. Each day school began with a short devotion. Students were also required to recite Bible verses and sing patriotic and gospel songs daily.

Transportation was not provided to the school's students, resulting in many boys and girls walking four or five miles to school each day. Despite this fact, attendance was always high, and a large percentage of the school's students continued their education through high school and college.

The school's heating system consisted of a large potbellied stove in the room for grades one through three and a long cast iron stove for grades four through seven. The boys from the sixth and seventh grade classes had the responsibility of keeping the wood dry by stacking it under the school. Often during the winter students had to huddle around the stove to keep warm during their lessons. Sometimes the teachers would bring soup for the students so they could have a warm meal at lunch.

The school's wooden floors were oiled with used motor oil to help settle the dust from outside. Water was supplied by a deep well pump located on the right front side of the school. The outhouses were in the rear of the school, separated for males and females.

The school closed in 1963, but the building still stands as a symbol of education to all of its former students.
Details
HM NumberHMHTK
Tags
Marker Number16
Placed ByCivil Rights in Education Heritage Trail?
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, October 26th, 2014 at 9:16am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 271549 N 4119013
Decimal Degrees37.18965000, -77.57371667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 11.379', W 77° 34.423'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 11' 22.74" N, 77° 34' 25.38" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)804
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 5813-6005 State Rte 636, Sutherland VA 23885, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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