The Williamsburg Bray School was a school for free and enslaved Black children founded in 1760 in Williamsburg, Virginia.[1] Opened at Benjamin Franklin's suggestion in 1760, the school educated potentially hundreds of students until its closure in 1774.[2] The house it first occupied is believed to be the "oldest extant building in the United States dedicated to the education of Black children".[2][3]
Constructed in 1760 by Dudley Digges, the structure has also been known as the Dudley Digges House and Bray-Digges House.[4][note 1] Bought by Methodist missionaries in the mid-1920s, the building was renovated and renamed Brown Hall. Its colonial origins not visible though known, the structure was not purchased by John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Colonial Williamsburg project, but was instead acquired by the College of William & Mary in 1930. The building and its additions were moved to William & Mary's campus, eventually housing the college's military science and ROTC programs from 1980 until 2021. After studies and an inventory were performed,[6]: 3–5 the building was again moved in February 2023 to Colonial Williamsburg's historic area.[7]
- ^ Ducibella, Jim (March 18, 2019). "Historical marker for Bray School unveiled". College of William & Mary. Williamsburg, VA. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ a b Heim, Joe. "At William & Mary, a school for free and enslaved Black children is rediscovered". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ "America's Oldest Standing Black School House Found in Williamsburg | History News Network". hnn.us. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ "The Bray-Digges House". Williamsburg, VA: College of William & Mary. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ Ackerman, Daniel Kurt (March 2009). Historic Structure Report for the Prince George Street House (PDF). Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, College of William & Mary. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via William & Mary Libraries Digital Archive.
- ^ Lounsbury, Carl; Blomo, Caitlin; Condie, Marissa; Pleasants, Adam; Santa Anna, Claudia; Snook, Caitlin; Tilley, Mae; Torregrosa, Maria (May 2021). Dudley Digges House aka Bray School and Brown Hall Annex: Room-by-Room Inventory of the Building Fabric (PDF). Williamsburg, VA: College of William & Mary. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ "Williamsburg Bray School". Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
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