Groveton Elementary School
GPS Coordinates: 38.7691724, -77.0950117
Closest Address: 6900 Harrison Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306

Here follows a history of the school as published on the Fairfax County Public Schools website:
Groveton Elementary School opened its doors on September 5, 1972. However, the roots of our school can be traced back to 1876. Learn more about us and the history of the Groveton community by visiting the links on this page.
What's in a Name?
Groveton Elementary School takes its name from the surrounding community, but have you ever wondered how the name Groveton originated? It’s a story that begins in 1833 with a gentleman named Samuel Collard. Learn more in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21:
Groveton Elementary School opened on its present site in 1972. The name Groveton can be traced back to the nineteenth century to a farm once owned by the Collard family. In 1833, Samuel Collard purchased 224 acres of land along both sides of the road from Alexandria to Mount Vernon, a road we now call Route 1. When Collard passed away in 1852, 166 acres of this property passed to his son, John Ricketts Collard. In September 1859, John Ricketts Collard advertised 160 acres of this property for rent in the Alexandria Gazette newspaper, calling it by the name Groveton farm. It is believed the farm was called Groveton for a grove of apple trees on the property. In 1875, John Ricketts Collard passed away and was buried in the family cemetery at his father's home, Mount Pleasant. One year later, the Mount Vernon District school board took one acre of land from Groveton Farm by imminent domain to build a schoolhouse.
The schoolhouse was constructed close to the present day intersection of Popkins Lane and Route 1. It was referred to as Kirby's schoolhouse in several Alexandria Gazette articles published in the 1880's, but was more commonly known as the Groveton School. The school was destroyed by fire in 1888 and replaced by a frame building which still stands in this photograph taken in 1918. The second Groveton school is visible at the top of the hill on the right. The winding curving road in the foreground is the old alignment of Route 1, which gave rise to this area being known as Snake Hill.
In 1925. the one-room schoolhouse closed and students moved into a new two-room schoolhouse located at what is now the intersection of Groveton Street and Route 1. In June of that year, the one-room Groveton school was sold to Reverend Dennis O'Connell and is now part of Saint Louis Catholic Church. Student population growth in the Groveton area accelerated rapidly during the late 1920's and the two-room schools soon became overcrowded. In 1933, a new Groveton Elementary School was built nearby on Memorial Street. This two-story brick building initially had six classrooms and an auditorium and remained in use until 1972 when the present Groveton Elementary School opened.
School History: The Kirby / Groveton School (1876-1925)
Fairfax County Public Schools was founded in 1870 with the passage of the Virginia Public Free Schools Act and the new Virginia constitution. During the early years of the school system, most children attended school in one-room schoolhouses where a single teacher taught children in grades one through seven. Administratively, the county was divided into six magisterial districts. Each district had its own School Board comprised of three trustees. The Groveton community was located in the Mount Vernon District and, unfortunately, very few records from this district’s school trustees have survived.
In January 1876, the Fairfax County Circuit Court appointed commissioners to survey a tract of land belonging to John Collard on the Old Mount Vernon Road (present day Route 1). The School Trustees of Mount Vernon District—Eben E. Mason, Richard L. Nevitt, and Frank F. Triplett—wanted to acquire a portion of the Collard property by eminent domain for a school site.
The plat for the Groveton School lot was recorded as part of the condemnation proceedings. Courtesy of the Fairfax County Circuit Court – Historic Records Center.
In March 1876, the Circuit Court ordered the property condemned and directed the trustees to pay $75 in compensation to the property owner. A short time later, a one-room schoolhouse was constructed on the site.
The Kirby School
The one-room school was generally referred to as the Kirby School in reference to James Owen Kerby, a son-in-law of John Collard. On most records the school’s name was spelled Kirby with an “i,” but there are a few instances where it was spelled with an “e.” James Kerby’s name was incorrectly printed as “Y. Owen Kerby” on the above map. Beginning in 1880, the Groveton Mission held Sunday school bible studies in the schoolhouse. The Woodlawn Farmers Club is known to have met there at least once in 1885. Currently, the only known teacher of the school is H. V. Collingsworth, who taught there during the 1886-87 school year. On March 14, 1888, the Alexandria Gazette newspaper reported:
"Kirby's school house, in Fairfax County, about four miles below this city, was totally destroyed by fire during the high wind yesterday [Tuesday], with all its contents. The flames caught from the stove, a fire in which had been kindled and left burning by some of the children, who had returned to their homes after waiting for some time for the teacher, who was prevented by the weather from being present. It is said that the building was in ashes within fifteen minutes from the time the fire caught."
A new one-room schoolhouse was erected a short time later on the site of the burned building. By the early-1890s, the name Kirby had fallen into disuse and the school permanently became known as the Groveton School. Annie Harvey is known to have taught at the Groveton School from 1893-95, and Lillian Utterback was the teacher during the 1895-96 school year. On December 14, 1894, the Alexandria Gazette reported: "Miss Annie Harvey, teacher of Groveton School, Fairfax County, while closing a blind yesterday, accidentally let the window fall on one of her hands and two of her fingers were broken."
School Days
Teachers at one-room schoolhouses had significant responsibilities in regards to the upkeep of the building. There were no janitors, so teachers built and maintained a fire in a pot belly stove used to warm the building, and washed and oiled the wood floors. The daily lessons were staggered by subject and grade level, with one grade of students giving recitations while the others worked quietly at their desks.
At some one-room schools, children didn’t have individual desks. They sat on long wooden benches and held their work in their lap. Before the days of ink pens and paper, children wrote with chalk on small slate boards that could be carried to and from school. There were no restrooms or running water in one-room schools. Older boys were tasked with carrying drinking water in a large bucket from a nearby well, and with carrying firewood into the building. Bathroom facilities typically consisted of a single outhouse, but in some more fortunate communities there were separate outhouses for boys and girls.
Groveton School class photo, circa 1916. Two of the children have been identified. Mary (Wease) Scheeler is in the plaid dress on the far right in the back row. The girl to the left of Mary in the back row is Evelyn Van Pelt. Courtesy of the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library.
A Growing Community
In October 1915, Samuel and Mary Ayres sold half-an-acre of land to the School Trustees of Mount Vernon District for $75. The purchase expanded the size of the Groveton School lot to approximately 1.77 acres in size. The land was likely added to provide additional space for the children to play.
Robert Wheat, Carl Wease, and Leon Taylor in front of the Groveton School, circa 1916. Courtesy of the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library.
By the early 1920s, the Groveton community had grown to such an extent that the little one-room school had become overcrowded. In 1922, the individual district school boards were abolished and the combined Fairfax County School Board, much as we know it today, was formed. In 1924, residents of the Groveton community pleaded with the School Board to build a new, two-room school at Groveton.
The original alignment of Route 1, looking north from Hybla Valley to Groveton, in 1918. The one-room Groveton School is pictured on the hillside on the right. Courtesy of the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library.
On August 19, 1924, the School Board awarded the contract for the construction of the new schoolhouse to R. L. Smith Construction of Accotink at a cost of $4,714. The building was completed in the spring of 1925, after which the one-room school was offered for sale at public auction. On Saturday, May 2, 1925, it was sold to Reverend D. J. O’Connell, Roman Catholic Bishop of Richmond, for $2,150 cash. The building still stands today, on Popkins Lane, and is part of Saint Louis Catholic Church.
Schools of Yesteryear
Learn more about the schools of the old Mount Vernon District in this video produced by Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21:
Established in 1870, Fairfax County’s Mount Vernon Magisterial District originally included the communities of Franconia, Gum Springs, Springfield, and Woodlawn. Located in the historic village of Accotink, near the intersection of Backlick Road and Route 1, the two-room Accotink School was built around 1884. Prior to its construction, students attended school in a nearby church. Pictured here, in 1907, is one of the Accotink School’s classrooms. The school closed in 1923 and was sold two years later. The Cameron School was located near the intersection of Wilton Road and Telegraph Road. It was built around 1892 on property sold by Elizabeth and Anne Frobel of Wilton Hill. Cameron replaced an earlier schoolhouse once located farther north on Telegraph Road that had been known variously as the Cameron School, Pulman School, and Valley School. The Groveton School, located on Popkins Lane at Route 1, replaced an earlier building on the same site called the Kirby School, that had burned down in March 1888. After the Groveton School closed in 1925, the building was sold and used as a church. In 1925, a two-room building, also called the Groveton School, opened on the opposite side of Route 1. It operated until the opening of Groveton Elementary School on Memorial Street in December 1933. Both of these buildings were demolished in the 1990s. The Potter’s Hill community, once located near the intersection of Beulah Road and Telegraph Road, was home to two school buildings. The first was constructed around 1877 on land donated by Charles Potter. It was replaced in 1917 by the four-room schoolhouse pictured here. Former student Marjorie Tharpe fondly recalled Halloween celebrations at the school when the children bobbed for apples in a washtub. The new Potter’s Hill School was destroyed by fire in March 1934 and was not replaced. The Spring Bank School was located on Quander Road near its intersection with Route 1. The school was constructed around 1890 and educated children who lived in the historic Black community of Spring Bank.
Viola Taylor: There could be 45 to 50 children in that building at one time. Sometimes, some years, you know, there was three or four children in each row. Sometimes there were four or five, especially as they got older. I remember the rows for the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade it always seemed like it was more children over there.
Joseph Williams: I remember that it had one teacher who taught all the classes. And every once in a while, Fairfax used to send a bushel of apples down there or a bushel of oranges once in a while you know for us. It had an old pot belly stove in there. I understand that the students before me used to go out there and pick up wood and stuff to put in the heater to keep the building warm. It was just one big room you know.
Joann Jordan: But we had to walk maybe a little over a mile every day to school. If it was ice, snow, we still had to walk down to Spring Bank. You had to bring your lunch every day. If you didn’t bring your lunch, there was a store up at the top of the hill. We’d call it Epp’s Store. And we would go up there during lunchtime at 12:00. And most of us had a quarter. And we’d buy five cents worth of bologna, and five cents worth of cheese, and a box of crackers. If we had a soda bottle, we would be able to get a soda. And we’d come back to the school and we ate our lunch.
Host: Spring Bank was the last one-room schoolhouse operated by Fairfax County Public Schools. After it closed in 1948, the students were bused to the Gum Springs School on Fordson Road. At that time, Gum Springs was a four-room building. It had been constructed in 1939 using a Rosenwald building layout with funding from the Federal government’s Public Works Administration.
The Springfield School was a one-room schoolhouse located on Backlick Road. Alice Smith and her sister Virginia Smith taught there in the 1920s. Former pupil Lillian Javins wrote that the school had a well with a hand pump, a library, and a playground where children played baseball, marbles, and Farmer in the Dell. Due to racial segregation in public education, there were two schools in the vicinity of Woodlawn mansion, both named Woodlawn - one for white students and the other for Black students. Pictured here is an artist’s depiction of the Woodlawn School for white children as it appeared prior to 1937. Located on the south side of Route 1, the two-room schoolhouse was replaced by the current Woodlawn Elementary School. The Woodlawn School for Black children was located on Woodlawn Road north of its intersection with Meeres Road on land that is presently part of Fort Belvoir. It replaced an earlier school that had been established in the mid-1860s with assistance from the Freedmen’s Bureau. Built around 1888, the second schoolhouse closed in 1941 during the expansion of Fort Belvoir and its students were reassigned to the school at Gum Springs.
The history of the Groveton two-room schoolhouse was written with assistance from Charlotte Brown, author of Images of America: Groveton, and Patricia Young from Friends of Historic Huntley.
School History: The Groveton School (1925-1933)
By the early 1920s, the Groveton community had grown to such an extent that the little one-room Groveton School had become overcrowded. In 1924, residents of the Groveton community pleaded with the Fairfax County School Board to build a new, two-room school at Groveton. A survey of potential sites was conducted in May of that year, and W. Franklin Pierce Reid offered to sell the School Board two acres of land for $500. This property was located north of Popkins Lane on the opposite side of Richmond Highway at its intersection with Groveton Street. The School Board took Reid up on his offer and, on August 19, 1924, awarded the contract for the construction of the new school to R. L. Smith Construction of Accotink at a cost of $4,714. The building was completed in the spring of 1925.
In the 1920s, Groveton was largely a rural dairy farming community. In October 1928, the School Board contacted David Crockett, and requested that he “keep his livestock and fowls off of the Groveton School property.” Prior to the completion of Shirley Highway (Interstate 95 in Fairfax County) in 1952, Route 1 was the primary north to south route for automobile travel through the county. Heavy traffic on Route 1 became dangerous for children walking to and from the Groveton School, and in 1931 the School Board asked the State Highway Department to lower the speed limit near the school to 25 miles per hour.
By 1933, the Groveton community had grown to such an extent that the two-room school was significantly overcrowded. In April of that year, the School Board appointed a committee to search for a site for a new elementary school in the area. The committee selected a tract of land owned by W. Franklin Pierce Reid and purchased the property for $400. This property was located catty corner to the current school lot and fronted West Oak Street (now known as Memorial Street). Construction began in the summer of 1933, and was completed in late December of that year. The school opened its doors to students for the first time on December 4, 1933, while contractors were still putting the finishing touches on the building.
From School to Home and Back Again
After completion of the new elementary school, the two-room school sat vacant for some time. In November 1940, Walter Spires, a janitor and bus driver at Groveton Elementary School, requested permission from the School Board to live in the vacant building. The Board agreed, provided he pay $10.00 per month in rent, and that he was to vacate the property promptly when notified to do so. At that time, Mr. Spires’ salary was $50.00 per month. In January 1941, the School Board entered into a similar agreement with John Lowe. Mr. Lowe, a janitor at Mount Vernon High School, was allowed to live in the old Groveton School under the same conditions as Mr. Spires. It is unknown whether both individuals lived in the building at the same time.
Student population growth in the Groveton community continued to accelerate from the 1940s through the 1960s. By September 1941, Groveton Elementary School was already overcrowded and plans were underway to construct an addition to the building. The School Board decided to reactivate the two-room school and directed Fairfax County Public Schools staff to make the building ready for teachers and students as soon as possible. The building remained in use well into the 1950s, by which time several new elementary schools, such as Mount Eagle, Belle View, Hollin Hall, Bucknell, and Virginia Hills, had been built nearby to relieve overcrowding. The building was torn down in the early 1990s, and today the site is owned by The Beacon of Groveton apartment complex.
Principals and Teachers
From 1925 to 1929, Mattie L. Kerby served as the principal of the two-room Groveton School. In addition to her duties as principal, she taught children in grades 4-7. Ruby M. Simpson was the principal and upper grades teacher from 1929 to 1931, and Catherine Beane served in that role from 1931 to 1933. The younger children in grades 1-3 were taught by Ruth N. Smith from 1925 to 1930, Elizabeth Beane from 1930 to 1932, and Ruby Smith from 1932 to 1933.
The history of the Groveton two-room schoolhouse was written with assistance from Charlotte Brown, author of Images of America: Groveton, and Patricia Young from Friends of Historic Huntley.
School History: Groveton Elementary (1933-1945)
By 1933, the Groveton community had grown to such an extent that the two-room school was significantly overcrowded. In April of that year, the Fairfax County School Board appointed a committee to search for a site for a new elementary school in the area. The committee selected a tract of land owned by W. Franklin Pierce Reid, Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and purchased the property for $400. This property was located on Memorial Street, catty corner to the Groveton School’s playground.
937 aerial photograph of Groveton Elementary School, courtesy of the Fairfax County Park Authority. Circled at top, in blue, is the new Groveton Elementary School built in 1933. Beneath it, circled in red, is the two-room Groveton School. The road at top, running left to right, is present day Memorial Street. The road on the right, running top to bottom, is Route 1. The road at bottom, running left to right, is present day Groveton Street. The building next to the two-room schoolhouse is Groveton Episcopal Chapel.
Design and Construction
Groveton Elementary School was designed with six classrooms and an auditorium. On June 28, 1933, the School Board awarded the construction contract for the school to Mr. J. H. Bennett of Richmond, Virginia, for $22,174. Work on the heating, plumbing, and electrical systems was contracted out separately. Mr. W. Wade Richardson of Marshall, Virginia, was awarded the contract for the heating and plumbing systems for $3,873, and the contract for the electrical work was awarded to George Shaw for $675. The contractors were given 120 days to complete the school, a very tight timeline. Construction was partially paid for with a $21,000 loan from the Literary Fund of the State Board of Education of Virginia.
Opening Day
For white Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students, the 1933-34 school year began on Thursday, September 14, 1933. Because the two-room Groveton School was already filled to capacity, many Groveton students were bused to temporary facilities such as the old Cameron Valley one-room schoolhouse, and the two-room Snowden School near Collingwood. FCPS also rented a room in the Hosley Chapel south of Mount Vernon for $8.00 per month for classroom use.
The Cameron, aka Cameron Valley School, was located on Telegraph Road near Wilton Road. The school opened circa 1893 and closed in 1932. Photograph courtesy of the Franconia Museum.
Through the efforts of the Groveton Mothers Club, a Parent Teachers Association (PTA) was formed for Groveton Elementary School on September 29, 1933. The first PTA President was Garfield Duvall. Groveton Elementary School opened its doors to students for the first time on December 4, 1933, while contractors were still putting the finishing touches on the building. Approximately 250 children in grades 1-7 were enrolled in Groveton at that time. Children in the primary grades were housed on the first floor of the building, close to the bathrooms and drinking fountain. The first Student Council Association (SCA) was formed in February 1934, with seventh grader Wilifred Walker as president. In the spring, the seventh grade class published the first school newspaper called the Peek-a-Boo. Other student activities at Groveton Elementary School included the Glee Club, a 4-H club, and a PTA-sponsored Boy Scout troop.
The First Teachers
Groveton Elementary School opened with seven teachers: Elizabeth R. Shackleton (Grade 1), Ruby Smith (Grade 2), Elma Besley (Grade 3), Catherine Beane (Grade 4), Frances E. Nevitt (Grade 5), Ethel G. Simms (Grade 6), and James E. Bauserman (Grade 7). Mr. Bauserman was also the school's principal. In February 1934, the School Board authorized the transfer of Mrs. Roche M. Padgett, and her class of fourth and fifth graders, from the two-room Woodlawn School to Groveton for the remainder of the year.
Segregated Education
Did you know that from 1870 until the early 1960s, public schools in Fairfax County were segregated by race? The schools at Groveton, including the new elementary school, were built to serve white children from the surrounding community. In 1933, African-American children living in the vicinity of Groveton attended the Spring Bank School. Located at the intersection of Quander Road and Route 1, Spring Bank was a one-room schoolhouse built in 1890.
The Spring Bank School, 1942. Spring Bank was the last one-room school in operation in Fairfax County. The last one-room school for white children, the Sydenstricker School near Burke, ceased operation in 1939.
After the Spring Bank School closed in 1948, the children were bused to the Gum Springs School located on Fordson Road in the Gum Springs community.
The Gum Springs School, 1942. This two-room school was later expanded to three rooms. It was replaced in 1953 by Drew-Smith Elementary School.
The Great Depression
Groveton Elementary School opened when the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression, a severe world-wide economic downturn. By 1933, approximately one-fourth of Americans were unemployed. This led to extreme poverty, homelessness, and malnutrition for many families. On March 4, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt began his first term as President of the United States. President Roosevelt quickly instituted several programs to help stabilize the economy and combat unemployment. At the same time in Fairfax County, the public school system was in the midst of the consolidation movement. FCPS Superintendent W. T. Woodson’s ambitious consolidation program led to the closure of rural one-room schoolhouses throughout the county, and the construction of new, modern schools, such as Groveton Elementary. Superintendent Woodson and the School Board were keenly aware of the economic recovery programs being instituted nationally, and, during the winter of 1934, Woodson secured an agreement with the Civil Works Administration (CWA) to provide grading and landscaping for the school grounds.
The federal CWA program abruptly ended in March 1934, before the work at Groveton had been completed, so Groveton's PTA stepped in and completed the school's landscaping.
Free Meals
During the 1930s, schools in Fairfax County did not have cafeterias and children brought their lunches from home. The Great Depression caused tremendous financial hardship in Fairfax County, leaving many families unable to provide lunches for their children. Through the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA), funding was made available to provide school lunches to impoverished children in Fairfax County. During the spring of 1935, FERA funding was used to provide nutritious home-cooked meals at lunchtime to children at Groveton, Annandale, Centreville, Floris, Franconia, Franklin Sherman, Herndon, and Lorton Elementary Schools. In the rural one-room schoolhouses, teachers often cooked a large pot of vegetable soup on top of the potbelly stove used to warm the building. The vegetables were donated by area families.
Potbelly stoves, like the one pictured here at the Clifton School, were commonly used to heat one and two-room school buildings in Fairfax County. Photograph courtesy of the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library.
The Challenges of Growth
When the plans for Groveton Elementary School were drawn, it was believed a six-classroom school would be more than large enough to handle the number of children living in the area. However, rapid student population growth quickly led to overcrowding at Groveton, and by 1935 FCPS administrators were already discussing the need to build an addition to the school. From the 1930s all the way into the early 1970s, the old two-room Groveton School was reactivated on multiple occasions to serve as overflow classroom space. The construction of an addition to Franconia Elementary School in 1935, the opening of the new Woodlawn Elementary School in 1938, and the conversion of Lee-Jackson High School to an elementary school in January 1940 relieved overcrowding for brief periods of time.
Lee-Jackson High School, circa 1935. Courtesy of the Virginia Department of Education. Lee-Jackson High School opened in the fall of 1926. Even though it was referred to as a high school, the building actually housed students in grades 1-11 into the early 1930s. After Mount Vernon High School opened, Lee-Jackson fully converted into an elementary school.
The War Years
Student population growth in the Groveton area continued unabated as the United States entered World War II. Creative solutions to overcrowding had to be found because there was very little funding for school construction and permanent building materials were not available as a result of the national war effort. One such solution was the construction of temporary wooden school buildings at Groveton and several other school sites. In August 1942, the School Board hired Mr. E. E. Lyons to construct a four-room temporary building at Groveton, the cost of which was funded by a loan from the State Literary Fund.
This four-classroom temporary building at Groveton Elementary School was constructed in 1942. Parents wanted the outside of the building covered with asbestos shingles, but tarpaper was chosen instead because it was more economical. The building remained in use well into the 1950s and was torn down sometime after the opening of Bucknell Elementary School in 1955.
On June 15, 1945, Superintendent Woodson submitted an application to the U.S. War Production Board for permission to build a permanent brick addition to Groveton Elementary School. The addition would consist of two classrooms, a health clinic, and a storage room. Approval was granted two weeks later, and on October 9, 1945 the School Board awarded the construction contract for the addition to Mr. E. E. Lyons at a cost of $30,868. As in the past, the addition was funded by a loan from the State Literary Fund. Construction was delayed by several months because building materials, bricks in particular, were in short supply, so the addition wasn't completed until January 1947.
Beacon Field Airport
Did you know that from the 1920s until 1959 there was an airport located on the present day site of Beacon Hill Mall? The Beacon Field Airport, as it was known, was owned by W. Franklin Pierce Reid, a former Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Under the Civilian Pilot Training Program established in 1938, the Ashburn Flying Service at Beacon Field Airport trained hundreds of pilots for military service to support the war effort. After the war, the Lehman / Reid Flying School at Beacon Field trained veterans under the G.I. Bill.
On Friday, April 2, 1943, an airplane bound for Beacon Field Airport crashed on the grounds at Groveton Elementary School. The accident happened shortly after recess ended and no children were harmed. Superintendent Woodson spoke with airport officials, requesting that all possible caution be exercised in the future to ensure such an accident never occurred again. A second accident occurred in the fall of 1948, when an airplane crashed into the side of a home adjacent to Groveton Elementary School, approximately 150 feet away from the school grounds. Groveton's PTA, with support from the School Board, tried unsuccessfully for several years to have the airport moved or closed.
School History: Groveton Elementary (1945-1972)
The Baby Boom Begins
In June 1945, there were approximately 8,235 students enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) at 42 schools. By December 1959, that number would climb to 54,100 students at 84 schools. FCPS administrators had been projecting record enrollment growth for several years, but were unprepared when actual growth far exceeded their expectations.
"A few more than 580 pupils are attending classes in three buildings at Groveton, an increase of more than 80 over last week's enrollment."
~ The Sunday Star, September 28, 1947
In 1948, five additional temporary classrooms were added to Groveton Elementary School in the form of Quonset huts. Quonset huts were acquired from World War II military surplus suppliers and were used to combat overcrowding at schools throughout Fairfax County.
Pictured here, in 1954, is one of the five Quonset huts used at Groveton Elementary School. Four of the Quonset huts used at Groveton were moved to the school in August 1948 from Madison Elementary School in Falls Church, and one month later a fifth hut was moved to Groveton from Franconia Elementary School.
Groveton Elementary School combined 3rd and 4th grade class, 1953, inside a Quonset hut. Groveton's PTA was very unhappy with the condition of the Quonset huts, particularly because they were drafty and difficult to keep warm during the winter. Photograph courtesy of Charlotte Brown.
Even with all these temporary facilities outside the main Groveton building in use, the school still remained overcrowded. In the late 1940s, it became necessary to partition the auditorium in half to create two classrooms. A third class was held on the auditorium's stage. Additionally, FCPS rented the recreation room at Groveton Episcopal Chapel for classroom use, and some first and second grade classes attended school on half-day shifts. In December 1949, a literary loan in the amount of $131,000 was approved to build a second addition to Groveton Elementary School, but the State Board of Education was unable to release the money to FCPS immediately because it was short on funding.
"All the 663 children at Groveton Elementary School use the toilet facilities in the main school, planned to accommodate 210. The extra buildings are all heated by coal stoves. "The work need not suffer seriously because the environment is primitive," Principal Emmett M. Day declared. "Overcrowding, of course, cannot be conquered, and it is bound to affect us all. Yet our school has the highest record of the five schools that feed into the nearby high school. My staff is wonderful and the parents are thoughtful, considerate and helpful."
~ The Washington Post, May 28, 1950
Teacher Salaries
During the 1950-51 school year, Groveton Elementary School had 20 teachers. The teachers were hired on ten-month contracts, and their salaries ranged between $2,300 and $3,600 for the year depended on their level of education, type of certification, and years of experience. Principal Emmett Milton Day was employed on a 12-month contract at a salary of $5,340 for the year. The average class size at Groveton during the 1951-52 school year was 38 students, the highest in the county at that time.
The 1950s
The plans for Groveton Elementary School's second addition were prepared in 1950 by the architecture firm of Dixon and Norman. The addition consisted of five classrooms, a cafeteria, kitchen, library, boiler room, a teachers' lounge, and a book storage room. In May 1951, the School Board awarded the construction contract for the addition to Eugene Simpson and Brother, Inc., at a cost of $177,865. The cafeteria was completed in the fall of 1951, and, in May 1952, the remaining rooms were certified by the School Board as complete. Groveton Elementary School's first librarian was Miss Anna C. Bugg. In the early 1950s, elementary school librarians were assigned to more than one school at a time. Miss Bugg worked part of the week at Groveton and part of the week at Mount Eagle Elementary School.
During the 1950s, enrollment at Groveton Elementary School fluctuated as new schools opened nearby, but overcrowding continued to be a major problem throughout the decade. The annexation of Lee-Jackson Elementary School by the City of Alexandria in 1952 was of particular concern to Groveton residents as it exacerbated overcrowding at the few area schools in operation at that time.
Lee-Jackson Elementary School, 1942. This school was located in what is today the City of Alexandria at the intersection of Duke Street at South Quaker Lane. This area was part of Fairfax County until the early 1950s when it was annexed by the city. There were far fewer elementary schools in operation in the early 1950s in Fairfax County then there are today, so the annexation of Lee-Jackson placed additional strain on already overcrowded schools.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, FCPS built several elementary schools in the vicinity of Groveton to relieve overcrowding: Mount Eagle and Hollin Hall (1949), Belle View (apartment annex in 1950, building in 1952), Cameron (1953), Bucknell, Hollin Hills, and Virginia Hills (1955).
In November 1954, the Groveton PTA requested that the tarpaper-covered temporary building be torn down upon completion of Bucknell Elementary School, provided that this would mean that only the first graders at Groveton would have to remain on half-day shifts. First graders at Groveton remained on half-day shifts through at least the 1957-58 school year. It is unclear when the tarpaper building and Quonset huts were removed, but the old two-room Groveton School remained in use into the early 1970s.
"When we were in elementary school, we were given somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 cents to go to Groveton Elementary School on Saturday afternoons. That would get you admission to a movie, a bag of popcorn, and a coke. We would watch movies like Blondie and Dagwood, Abbott and Costello, Tarzan, The Bowery Boys, or an occasional thriller like Dracula. 35 cents was a small price to pay to get the kids out of the house and enjoy the peace and quiet."
~ Kim Arceneaux, Groveton Alumna
The 1960s
The decade of the 1960s brought several major changes to Groveton Elementary School. In September 1960, FCPS opened its first intermediate schools. Prior to this time, elementary schools in Fairfax County educated children in grades one through seven. The seventh grade children in the Groveton attendance area were assigned to Bryant Intermediate School on Quander Road.
Bryant Intermediate School was originally located on Quander Road. In 1976, Bryant and Groveton High School traded campuses. Today, the original Bryant site is home to West Potomac High School.
In the early 1960s, FCPS began a slow process of desegregation. Prior to this time, African-American children living near Groveton were assigned to the "colored" schools at Spring Bank or Gum Springs. Spring Bank closed in 1948, and Gum Springs in 1953, after which the children were assigned to Drew-Smith Elementary School located on Fordson Road in the Gum Springs community.
Drew-Smith Elementary School, an all-African-American school, closed in 1965 and was converted into a special education center. Photograph courtesy of the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library.
All public schools in Fairfax County racially integrated at the end of the 1965-66 school year, marking the beginnings of the ethnically and culturally diverse Groveton school community we cherish today. Also in the 1960s, FCPS offered its first kindergarten classes. A kindergarten program was piloted in several schools in 1967, and in 1968 Groveton opened its doors to the five-year-olds of the community.
A New Building
By the late 1960s, Groveton Elementary School was beginning to show its age. The size of the school lot prohibited expansion of the building, and FCPS administrators felt the school was completely outdated and was no longer adequate to support the needs of the community. A report to the School Board in January 1971 indicated that 444 children were enrolled at Groveton Elementary School. 360 of these children were housed in the brick building, and the others were housed in a trailer and in the old two-room Groveton School. The report also indicated that the architectural plans for a new 990-pupil capacity Groveton Elementary School were complete.
On March 25, 1971, the School Board awarded the construction contract for the new school to Burroughs and Preston, Inc., at a cost of $1.38 million. The new building was completed in time for the opening of schools on September 5, 1972. During the 1971-72 school year, on what would be the last day of school in the "old" Groveton Elementary School, students marched down Groveton Street to the new building and took pictures in front of their new school.
The Principals
During the time when Groveton Elementary School operated out of the building on Memorial Street, the school had eleven principals: James E. Bauserman (1933-36), Melvin Bowman Landes (1936-40), Frances Mitchell (1940-42), Helen M. Haertel (1942-43), Emmett Milton Day (1943-55), Warren Joseph Pace (1955-56), William E. Campbell (1956-57), Harriet G. Trites (1957-1964), Merlin Gil Meadows (1964-66), Alan R. Sterner (1966-March 1968), and William E. Zepka (March 1968-86). We have been able to locate photographs for six of these principals.
Melvin Bowman Landes (1936-40)
This photograph of Principal Landes was taken in 1946 when he was the principal of Mount Vernon High School. Mr. Landes was the principal of Vienna Elementary from 1935-36, Lee-Jackson Elementary from 1940-45, and Mount Vernon High School from 1945-73.
Emmett Milton Day (1943-55)
This photograph of Principal Day was taken circa 1960 when he was the principal of Virginia Hills Elementary School. Mr. Day also served at various times as the principal of Annandale, Fairview, and Lorton elementary schools.
William E. “Bill” Campbell (1956-57)
This photograph of Principal Campbell was taken during the 1970-71 school year when he was the principal of Belle View Elementary School. Mr. Campbell also served at various times as principal of Cameron Elementary, Mount Eagle Elementary, and Mark Twain Intermediate School.
Harriet G. Trites (1957-64)
This photograph of Principal Trites was taken during the 1970-71 school year when she was the principal of Hybla Valley Elementary School. She opened Hybla Valley during the 1964-65 school year and served as its principal until 1971.
Merlin Gil Meadows (1964-66)
This photograph of Principal Meadows was taken in 1971. Mr. Meadows also served at various times as the principal of Braddock, Great Falls, Jermantown, Pine Spring, Ravensworth, and Quander Road elementary schools.
William E. "Bill" Zepka (1967/8-1986)
This photograph of Principal Zepka was taken during the 1969-70 school year. Principal Zepka was a teacher at Mount Eagle Elementary for four years prior to his appointment to Groveton. He is remembered by many former students for instilling core values called the Four C's: Courtesy, Consideration, Cooperation, and Caring. In 1984, Mr. Zepka was chosen as Virginia's first "National Distinguished Principal" by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Area I Office
After Groveton Elementary School moved to Harrison Lane, the 1933 building was converted into the FCPS Area I Administrative Office. The building was also used to house maintenance facilities and mechanics. Conversion of the building to office space was carried out during the spring of 1973, and in May of that year the Area I office staff relocated from Hollin Meadows Elementary School to Groveton. In 1981, the School Board declared the building surplus to school needs and began preparation to move the Area I Office to the old Hollin Hall Elementary School. The 1933 Groveton building was torn down in the early 1990s, and today the site is owned by The Beacon of Groveton apartment complex.
School History: Groveton Elementary (1972-2000)
By the late 1960s, Groveton Elementary School was beginning to show its age. The size of the school lot prohibited expansion of the building, and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) administrators felt the school was completely outdated and was no longer adequate to support the needs of the community. In March 1969, the School Board authorized the construction of a new Groveton Elementary School, and directed that the building be modeled after the new Hunters Woods Elementary School in Reston. An emerging trend in the education field called "open classrooms" was quickly rising to prominence in Fairfax County, and Hunters Woods was one of the first open classroom schools built by FCPS. Open school classrooms were built without doors and were clustered around "pods" that could be divided with moveable partitions into separate learning areas. A report to the School Board in January 1971 indicated that the architectural plans for the new 990-pupil capacity Groveton Elementary School were complete, and that it would take 14 months to construct the building. On March 25, 1971, the School Board awarded the contract for construction of the new school to Burroughs and Preston, Inc., at a cost of $1.38 million.
Groveton Elementary School, at its current site, opened its doors to students for the first time on September 5, 1972. Utilizing the open classroom model, Groveton was divided into several learning areas where a group of classes shared space. Teachers worked as teams with children grouped according to their differing abilities. The learning areas, or pods, at Groveton were named for presidents of the United States: Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Taylor, Washington, and Wilson.
The youngest children were assigned to group Apple Blossom or Cherry Blossom.
A Community School
For Principal Bill Zepka, teachers, and students, the move from Memorial Street to Harrison Lane brought with it new opportunities and challenges. One challenge Principal Zepka later recalled was memorizing the names of all the students, a task he undertook each of his 18 years as principal; one that was made more difficult by the increase in enrollment. "It's very important that I know all their names; all 640 pupils, kindergarten through sixth grade. I have to take the picture book home every night," said Zepka in 1984.
Principal Bill Zepka with students, 1981. In order to feel more connected with the teachers and students, Principal Zepka moved his desk from the office to the open library to make himself more accessible.
Principal Zepka envisioned Groveton as a community school, a place dedicated to serving the entire community from pre-school aged children through adults. To that end, Principal Zepka initiated several new programs at Groveton Elementary School in the 1970s. During the 1973-74 school year, he started a senior citizens nutrition program for low-income elderly residents.
Senior citizens in the nutrition program at Groveton Elementary, 1976-77. Lunch was provided to senior citizens daily. Donations, made on a sliding scale according to ability to pay, were required for the meals. Lunch was preceded and followed by recreational and educational activities, lectures, and entertainment. The senior citizens also volunteered in the school. They taught music after school hours, worked with staff members on arts and crafts, taught sewing classes, and helped in the library.
Senior citizens in the nutrition program at Groveton Elementary, 1980-81. "Groveton houses the county's oldest nutrition center, which is still first in attendance and enthusiasm, its seniors say. The seniors don't just use a room, they are a genuine part of the school. The center's program provides a variety of activities - use of the book mobile, a movie, music selections, a shopping trip, nutrition class, arts and crafts, ceramics, a bus pickup every Monday after lunch, and weekly visits from a family assistance worker and a dietician." The Washington Post, Feb. 23, 1978
"The elements in a community school are one where you involve the community from preschool to adult education. And it has to be easily accessible to the entire community. When I was appointed to Groveton Elementary School, I had that in my background— my community school philosophy—and I initiated a preschool program here at Groveton Elementary. We initiated some adult education courses through the County Education Department. We also established the first senior citizens program here at Groveton Elementary School. It was the first senior citizens nutritional program operated in the state, and was the first one, and the only one I think to this day, that's really operated full-time in an elementary school. It went from about three participants to about 65."
~ Principal Bill Zepka, October 1987
A School of Innovations
Did you know that Groveton was one of the first public schools in the eastern United States to offer programs for children with autism? In 1974, there were only eight special education classes in the entire Fairfax County public school system for students with autism, one of which was housed at Groveton Elementary School.
Also during the 1970s, Principal Zepka established the first co-op preschool program and the first before-and-after-school day care program for working mothers in Fairfax County. The FCPS English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program, originally called the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, began in 1975 with 275 students, most of whom were refugees from Vietnam. Groveton Elementary School became an ESL cluster site in October 1977.
Groveton Elementary School, 1975. During the 1975-76 school year, a boundary change increased enrollment at Groveton by 120 students. The new students came from Hybla Valley and Mount Eagle elementary schools.
The 76ers
During the 1981-82 school year, Groveton graduated its first group of sixth graders known as the 76ers. This first group of children entered kindergarten at Groveton during the 1975-76 school year, and remained at Groveton throughout all seven of their elementary school years. The tradition carried on after 1982, with each subsequent group of students who attended Groveton K-6 being named 76ers.
Student Activities and Committees
During the 1970s and 1980s, Groveton Elementary School offered a wealth of extracurricular and co-curricular activities for students. In fact, Groveton piloted the first elementary after-school recreation program in Fairfax County. Below are a small sample of the activities and student groups found in our yearbooks from this time period.
The Cafeteria Committee, 1973-74. Other popular committees at Groveton during the 1970s were the Lost and Found Committee, the Art Committee, the Physical Education Committee, and the Newspaper Committee. During the 1970s and 80s, the school newspaper was called The Tiger's Paw.
The Choral Festival Group, 1976-77. Band, strings, and chorus have been popular with students for many decades.
Student Council Association (SCA) officers and room representatives, 1980-81. One fondly remembered SCA activity is Student / Teacher Swap Day when some sixth graders became principal, assistant principal, and teachers for a day. Groveton's first SCA was formed in February 1934.
The Chess Club, 1980-81. Other popular clubs during the 1980s were the Language Arts Club, the Math Club, the Stamp Club, and Spanish Club.
The School Store Committee, 1980-81. In addition to the school store, students of the 1980s fondly remember Groveton's annual Secret Santa Shop where they could purchase gifts for their family and friends.
The Audio-Visual Committee, 1981-82. The Groveton Elementary School news team (GSPN) was formed during the 1985-86 school year.
Groveton Elementary School piloted the first elementary after-school recreation programs in the county. During the 1983-84 school year, there were six basketball teams: The Celtics, The Hawks, The Lakers, The Rocketts, The Sixers, and The Warriors. Pictured above are The Rocketts and The Warriors in 1983-84.
The Building and Grounds Committee, 1984-85.
Groveton Strings, 1989-90. Popular activities and clubs during the 1990s were Young Astronauts, Caldecott Club, and Good Morning Groveton.
One fondly remembered after-school activity at Groveton is roller skating in the gymnasium. Alumni from the 1980s recall roller skating being held on Mondays after school and every other Friday night. Movie nights, a tradition which dates back to at least the 1940s, was another favorite activity.
"When you walk in the door of Fairfax County's Groveton Elementary School you see a pair of live doves nuzzling each other in a cage. Following the path of tiger paws down the hall, you pass a cafeteria where gray-haired men and women who sat in wooden desks learning their ABCs 60 years ago are eating pizza with fifth-graders. And inside the office across the hall, you find the man recently named Virginia's first National Distinguished Principal, Bill Zepka, surrounded by a five-foot-tall stuffed panda and scores of other souvenirs pupils have brought their principal from ventures around the world and Fairfax County."
~ The Washington Post, October 4, 1984.
New Leadership
In 1986, Cynthia Buck was appointed the 12th principal of Groveton Elementary School. At this point in time, Groveton was one of the most racially and ethnically diverse schools in Fairfax County, with a student body that was 53 percent white, 26 percent African-American, 15 percent Asian, and 6 percent Hispanic.
This photograph of Ms. Buck is from our 1982-83 yearbook when she was an assistant principal at Groveton. In 1983, she was appointed principal of Forestdale Elementary School in Springfield, a position she held until 1986.
Principal Cynthia Buck with students, 1989-90. In 1992, Ms. Buck was appointed principal of Mount Eagle Elementary School, a position she held until 2004.
Under Principal Buck's leadership, the Academy Program was initiated at Groveton to help new students who recently arrived to Fairfax County become acclimated to the school and the surrounding community.
A Glimpse Back in Time
In 1988, Groveton Elementary School was the subject of the Fairfax County Public Schools cable television channel series Profile. The Red Apple 21 crew spent several days at Groveton, gathering interviews with teachers and classroom footage. The resulting 29-minute documentary provides a fascinating snapshot our school in the late 1980s.
The 1990s
During the 1992-93 school year, Groveton Elementary School students were the recipients of a new playground courtesy of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
Principal Tommy Thompson (1992-97)
Also in 1992, Edward "Tommy" Thompson succeeded Ms. Buck as principal of Groveton Elementary School.
Principal Tommy Thompson, 1995. Before coming to Groveton, Mr. Thompson was the principal of Belle View Elementary School.
Principal Tommy Thompson with students, 1996. In 1997, Mr. Thompson departed Groveton and became the principal of Hybla Valley Elementary School, a position he held until 2003.
In February 1997, Principal Thompson, Assistant Principal Louise Mannarino, and ESL teacher Ivette Colon made a presentation to the Fairfax County School Board about Groveton's ESL Parents' Committee. Ms. Colon described the committee and her work with children and their families who came to Fairfax County from a wide range of cultural, educational, social, and economic backgrounds, and had varying degrees of English proficiency. The committee had created a resource book with strategies and techniques designed to encourage parental involvement, copies of which were distributed to ESL teachers throughout Fairfax County. School Board members expressed their gratitude to the Groveton community, noting that parental involvement in education is vital to the success of students.
Principal Elizabeth Henderson (1997-99)
During the summer of 1997, Elizabeth A. Henderson became the 14th principal of Groveton Elementary School. Before coming to Groveton, Ms. Henderson had been a principal at Clermont Elementary, Great Falls Elementary, and Cheney Elementary on Fort Belvoir.
Principal Christine Lamb (1999-07)
In 1999, Christine Lamb was appointed principal of Groveton Elementary School. She led Groveton for eight years until her retirement in 2007.
School History: Groveton Elementary (2000-Present)
On October 30, 2003, the Fairfax County School Board awarded a contract for the first building-wide renovation of Groveton Elementary School. The $7.3 million renovation, performed by general contractor Whitener & Jackson, Inc., brought extensive changes to Groveton. The open classroom model, upon which Groveton was originally designed, gradually fell out of favor during the 1980s. The renovation enclosed these spaces into separate classrooms.
In the News
Take a few moments to watch some news stories highlighting Groveton Elementary School in the early 2000s. Topics include the Groveton Summer Reading Van (2004), Math Games (2007), and the Groveton Literacy Cafe (2009).
Diversity and Enrollment
Continuing a trend begun in the 1980s, Groveton's student body became even more racially and ethnically diverse during the early 2000s. In 2003, for example, statistics show that Groveton was 18.7 percent Asian, 32.7 percent Black or African-American, 23.2 percent Hispanic, 6.3 percent Multiracial, and 18 percent White. Student enrollment at Groveton was also on the rise during this time. From 2006 to 2016, enrollment swelled from 540 students to approximately 800. The enrollment spike necessitated the move of an eight-classroom modular building from Beech Tree Elementary School to Groveton during the summer of 2011.
The Principals
Christine Lamb (1999-07)
Principal Lamb began her career with FCPS in 1979, and served as a special education teacher, assistant principal, and principal. During her time at Groveton, Principal Lamb worked to increase parental involvement in school activities, and encouraged staff to continue their own education and expand their teaching styles. She was the recipient of the Greater Washington Reading Council's 2002-03 Principal of the Year Award, and was a Fordham University School Change Award finalist in 2004. Under her leadership, Groveton Elementary School was named a Project Excel Gold Medal School from 2000-02. Principal Lamb retired in 2007 after 38 years in the education profession.
Rich Pollio (2007-14)
Richard "Rich" Pollio began his career in the education profession in 1991 through Teach for America as a third grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in Compton, California. He began his career with FCPS as an English for Speakers of Other Languages Teacher at Belle View Elementary School, followed by a stint as assistant principal at Waynewood Elementary School. In 2007, he was appointed the 15th principal of Groveton Elementary School. Principal Pollio left Groveton in October 2014 to become the Director of English Learner Services for FCPS. He was succeeded briefly by Stephen Hockett who served in an interim capacity until the appointment of Principal Swoger in December 2014.
James F. Swoger (2014-Present)
Local History
Read and learn more about Groveton's rich history through books and websites, by visiting our beautiful parks and museums, or strolling through quaint nearby towns.
Excerpt from Images of America Groveton by Charlotte Brown, publisher Arcadia Publishing.
"Groveton is located in Fairfax County, three miles south of Alexandria on what is now known as Richmond Highway. The original property owners of the Groveton area were George Mason, Sampson Darrell, and George Washington. Early family homes that are still standing include Huntley, Stone Mansion, Wilkinson, Sherwood Farm, and Briery Farm.
Between the 1880s and early 1900s Groveton was home to several orchards and farms. Dairy farms, such as Clifton, Groveton, Sherwood, and Hybla Valley Farms made up the Alexandria Milk Association for which Groveton was known. By the mid-1900s, the farms gave way to businesses, churches, residential housing, and two airfields. Today, Groveton has grown to become a diverse neighborhood and is experiencing economic growth due to the Fort Belvoir expansion.
Local historian and author Charlotte Brown grew up in Groveton and has documented St. Mark's Episcopal Church history and researched area family history and genealogy. Using photographs careful preserved by Groveton families, the author, with the help of Historic Huntley House supporters, family, friends, and neighbors, was able to capture this history of Groveton."