When the
war clouds enveloped Washington and the Emancipation
Proclamation freed the bondman, Washington at once became the mecca
for the liberated, and in 1864 some thirty thousand ex-slaves were in the
District with perhaps only two thousand under educational guidance.
[Excerpt from A Washington Past and Present,
"Public Education in the District of Columbia-1805-1928," (New York: Lewis
Historical Publishing Company, 1930) p.49.]
Fort Stevens is perhaps the most important
Fort in the Washington Metropolitan area, but probably the least known. The
surrounding community, including the Military Road School, was a very
important element in the Union victory over Washington. The Military Road
School is still an important element in the interpretation of the history of
the Fort Stevens Battlefield, the pre-Civil War African-American community
established there, and that community's connection with the Civil War.
The community of slaves living in the area of Ft. Stevens before, during,
and after the Civil War was a proud people-American citizens who wanted to
share in the life of the nation to the fullest. The Military Road School was
born out of slavery. The slaves had limited freedom, but their minds were
sharp and eager to pursue life's treasures.
In 1864, the school began in a Fort Stevens army barracks and in 1865, an
annex to the school was built. The school was named after the road on which
it was located. This road, in close proximity to Fort Stevens, was used to
transport soldiers and military equipment to and from the Fort. Historical
testimony revealed that two sisters (the Butler sisters) donated the piece
of property on which the Military Road School is located, with the provision
that the land be used for a school to educate black children. The current
structure, a rectangular shaped four-room school building with basement
designed by Snowden Ashford, the city's Municipal Architect, was constructed
in 1912 by Skinker & Garrett. It was the only school for Negro children in
the upper northwest section of the county of Washington, later know as the
District of Columbia, for many years. Therefore, children from Silver Spring
and Takoma Park, Maryland, also sought an education there from grades 1
through 8.
The Military Road School building has survived the urban development which
continues to alter much of the city's original flavor. On July 23, 1998, the
school was designated a historic landmark in the D.C. Inventory of Historic
Sites by the Historic Preservation Review Office of Washington, D.C., and on
July 25, 2003, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by
the United States Department of the Interior-National Park Service.
As tough and as rugged as the soldiers
were who traveled that road to reach
Fort Stevens, we too, became soldiers of small stature on that road,
preparing
to face the challenges of life ahead of us. As they were, no doubt, summoned
To their daily duties by the Reveille bugler; we marched to a different
drumbeat
That began each day with the ringing of an old-fashioned hand bell.
[Excerpt from the Application by the
Alumni Association of the Military Road School to the Historic Preservation
Review Board to Designate Military Road School as a Historic Landmark, dated
March 16, 1998.
Shared experiences among many students who attended this school substantiate
the fact that its heritage became an incentive for the teachers, students,
and parents to perpetuate the standard of excellence with each succeeding
generation. In tribute to and gratitude for the excellent teaching that
challenged students to make a difference in society, the Military Road
School Preservation Trust continues to seek avenues to promote the area's
historical value and to expose inner-city youth to the basic riches of life
associated with the Military Road School's legacy.
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