Cub Run Colored School
Dublin Core
Title
Cub Run Colored School
Date
1887 - 1953
Description
Around 1887, a one-room schoolhouse for African American children was constructed near Cub Run and was called the Cub Run School. The one-room Cub Run School was deemed inadequate for the growing population in 1928. Land was acquired from the Robinson family and a new two-room schoolhouse was built in 1931. The new school was modeled on plans designed by the Rosenwald Foundation, but it was not funded by the Foundation. In 1948 it was noted that many Black families were moving from Fairfax to the Cub Run area and in 1949 funds were authorized to add an additional room onto the Cub Run building as soon as possible.
In the 1950s, Fairfax County schools were overwhelmed by the rapid increase in the White suburban population. The Cub Run Colored School was consolidated with the Fairfax Colored Elementary School in Fairfax City in 1953. The Cub Run school building was sold to the Robinson family in 1954 and later converted into a church. The building still stands today and houses the Centreville Assembly of God church.
James Sadler taught at the Floris Colored School in Dranesville District (1899), at the Cub Run School in Centreville District (1904), the Oak Grove School in Herndon (1909), and at several schools in Lee District in the early 20th century. He would later go on to become the publisher of the Eastern Observer, an African American newspaper.
In the 1950s, Fairfax County schools were overwhelmed by the rapid increase in the White suburban population. The Cub Run Colored School was consolidated with the Fairfax Colored Elementary School in Fairfax City in 1953. The Cub Run school building was sold to the Robinson family in 1954 and later converted into a church. The building still stands today and houses the Centreville Assembly of God church.
James Sadler taught at the Floris Colored School in Dranesville District (1899), at the Cub Run School in Centreville District (1904), the Oak Grove School in Herndon (1909), and at several schools in Lee District in the early 20th century. He would later go on to become the publisher of the Eastern Observer, an African American newspaper.
Source
“James Sadler” in Educators of the Centreville District. Accessed via Fairfax County Public School History website: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/history/records/centreville/biographies#james- sadler
Centreville District School Board Minutes, 1904-1922. Accessed via Fairfax County Public School History website: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/history/records/centreville/minutes
Fairfax County School Board Minutes, 1922-Present. Accessed via Fairfax County Public School, Search School Board Minutes website: https://insys.fcps.edu/schoolboardapps/searchmenu.cfm
What’s In a Name? Cub Run Elementary. Fairfax County Public Schools YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/SItXk49Pa6s
School History. Cub Run Elementary School, Fairfax County Public Schools website: https://cubrunes.fcps.edu/about/history
A History of Education for Black Students before 1954. Evelyn Darnell Russell-Porte, 2000. Doctoral Dissertation, Virginia Tech. Accessed via Virginia Tech Electronic Theses and Dissertations website: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/29646
Historical Newspaper Index. Accessed via Fairfax County Public Library website: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library_newsindex/
“The Robinson Legacy in Education, History.” February 15, 2006. Accessed via The Connection Archives website: http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2006/feb/15/the-robinson-legacy-in- education-history/
Building Item Type Metadata
Location
14821 Lee Hwy, Centreville, Virginia 20121
District
Sully
Additional Notes
The school is now used by the Centreville Assembly of God church. A modern school, in a different building and on a different location, is called Cub Run Elementary School. Related sites are Rock Hill Freedman School and Bull Run / Gatepost community.
Photo Credit
Courtesy of FCPS
Files
Collection
Citation
“Cub Run Colored School,” Fairfax County African American History Inventory, accessed September 16, 2024, https://fairfaxaahi.centerformasonslegacies.com/items/show/160.