"The trustees of Cople District schools sold at auction at Kinsale October 28, the old school-house and one acre of land located near Maynard's Fork, Captain William H. Allen being the purchaser, for the sum of $36.00. Joseph G. Sanford contends that under the school laws, when this property was sold by his father, the late Dr Robert Sanford, that this one acre of land reverts to the heirs of Dr. Sanford, and he (JGS) will contend the same."
"The two plays so successfully rendered at the Hague on Friday night last will be repeated at Kinsale on Wednesday night, May 3 (1911). Proceeds for the Library Oldhams graded school."
"Ten thousand dollars has been appropriated from the Battle fund allocated to Westmoreland county for the construction of cafeteries for Washington and Lee High School and the A. T. Johnson High School at Templemans. There may be an additional $5,000 will be given both of these schools pending the bids on the "colored" elementary school in the Washington District."
This is an article that appeared at this date concerning the sale of excess school property belonging to the school board of Westmoreland County.
"Saturday, May 5, 1951 at 11 o'clock A.M. at the front door of (the) Court House, Montross, Virginia: offered for sale by way of public auction to highest bidder the following real estate of School Board.
1) All of that certain lot or parcel of land containing an area of three acres, more or less, situated, lying, and being on Chandler's Mill Pond, on highway #3 which is the reside of two tracts of land which were conveyed to said School Board by W. G. White, et.al., by deeds dated January 17, 1924 and August 16, 1927.
This property is known as Montross Colored School, the school building on which burned several years ago.
2) All of that tract or parcel of land, containing two acres, more or less, situated, lying, and being on the left hand side of the public road leading from Oak Grove to Colonial Beach near Monroe Hall, which conveyed to said School Board by Arthur Walker, Sr., by deed dated June 16, 1932 and by John G. Rowley by deed dated November 3, 1937. This property is known as Monroe Hall Colored School.
3) All of that tract of land, containing one acre, situated, lying, and being in Cat Point on the Wolf Trap Road, which was conveyed to said School Board by Thomas Severns and Jane Severns by deed dated 1885. This property is known as Cat Point School.
4) All of that tract of tract or parcel of land containing an area of 1 27/100 acres, situated, lying, and being near Grace church on the old road leading from Oak Grove to Rollins Fork which was acquired by condemnation on 23 December 1912. This porperty known as the Rappahannock Graded School".
"Reconstruction of the Colonial Beach Elementary School will begin June 9th. The anticipated cost of this work is approximately $110,000 and it will give this town a school building with the very latest in modern construction.
Plans call for a complete new inside to the present building with new brick work, steel beams, new roof, modern wiring and all new lighting fixtures.
New heating will also be installed in the auditorium and in the cafeteria. The floors will all be covered with asphalt tiles".
"Preliminary steps for the erection of a new Negro elementary school in Templemans were completed last Wednesday in a joint meeting of the Westmoreland Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education.
The estimated cost of the 800-pupil elementary school is $396,746.90, and according to Superintendent Robert T. Ryland, "when completed, this will be the largest single school construction unit ever attempted in this division, and with the greatest enrollment".
Realising the need for a consoladated school for the colored children of Cople and Montross Districts, the officials bought 23 acres of land at Templeman for a school site.
The 27-classroom project will be located one mile from the present A.T. Johnson High School. It will accomadate children from Cople and Montross Districts attending the following schools:
Sandy Point, Salem, Potomac, Zion, Hacketts Hill, Erica, Zacata, Kremlin,Templeman and Mudbridge".
"A $337,967 bid for construction of a 200-pupil Negro elementary school at Templeman accepted officially last Wednesday by the Westmoreland County School Board.
The 27-room structure is to be located at Templeman about three miles east of Montross. It will replace 10 frame schools throughout the county which range in size from one to five rooms.
Schools which will be made obsolete when the structure is complete include: Mudbridge at Hague, Erica, Hacketts Mill in Kinsale, Salem near Mt. Holly, Sandy Point at Westmoreland, Templeman, Kremlin near Oldhams, Zion at Tucker Hill, Potomac Elementary near Hague and Zacata".
"The Westmoreland County School Board proposes consolidation of white High Schools of Richmond and Westmoreland Counties.
School Superintendent R. T. Ryland said a plan to carry out a merger will be presented to the Richmond County School Board at a joint meeting in June or July.
Both Boards have gone on record in favor of consolidation on the High School level".
"The King George County School Board last week unanimously voted to study the possibility of opening King George High School to some Westmoreland County pupils.
T. Benton Gayle, county superintendent suggested a plan by which King George High School would educate the 10th and 12th grades from Colonial Beach and maybe the rest of the county. The present Oak Grove High School would then be converted to a Junior High School for Westmoreland children".
A proposal for a consolidated white High School was put before a joint session of Westmoreland and Richmond school boards and boards of supervisors here last Thursday night.
Approximate cost of a consolidated plant has been estimated at between $550,000 and $700,000.
If each county built its own school, the cost would be between $350,000 and $400,000 each".
"The King George High School PTA, last week endorsed the merger with the Colonial Beach area".
"The town (Colonial Beach) decided last week to build its own High School, rather than to send its 115 High School students to King George or a new consolidated school at Montross.
The High School will take the form of an 8-room addition to the towns' present elementary school.
The decision to put the town back into the High School business, after an absence of 10 years, was sealed by a 110 to 3 vote of school patrons at a public meeting held last night.
Colonial Beach closed it former High School in 1949 because the school did not meet a minimum state requirement on the number of students. That requirement no longer exists."
"At a mass meeting held in the High School on Monday night the proposal for combining the high school departments of Oak Grove and Colonial Beach, at Oak Grove, was thoughly explained to the citizens of Colonial Beach by Mr. Blake T. Newton, Superintendent of Westmoreland and Richmond County schools, and Mr. Woodrow Wilkerson, Supervisor of high schools in the sate of Virginia.
The proposal was highly approved by a majority of those citizens present.....by a standing vote.
During 1948-1949 the entire school sytem of Westmoreland County consisted of 4 schools for white children and 16 for Negro children. The summary for schools was: 15 schools are one-room, two-room, or three-room structures. Five of the 20 centers have brick or cement block buildings.
Six centers have inside toilets.
Five high school centers have a central library.
Five of the high schools have auditoriums (Three of these auditoriums may be used as gymnasiums).
Three of the high school centers have cafeterias and two of the elementary centers have a space for small lunchrooms.
Four of the high school centers have facilities for agriculture and home economics.
Two high school centers have facilities for some commercial work.
Two buildings used for elementary school purposes are privately owned but rented by the Westmoreland County School Board.
The Committee wishes to emphasize that, in recommending consolidations in Richmond and Westmoreland Counties on both the elementary and high school levels, it is concerned with education as a continuous process.
"The Virginia compulsory school law requires that all children from the ages of 8 to 14 years shall attend school. Therefore it is important that those having children of these ages to see that the law is complied with otherwise it will be the duty of the Commonwelth's Attorney to prosecute all who fail to carry out these provisions".
