{"nrhp_refnum":"98001311","name":"Walker-Grant School","other_names":["Fredericksburg Colored School","111-145"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Gunnery Rd., bet. Dunmore and Ferdinand Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fredericksburg (Independent City)","county":"Fredericksburg","state":"VA","lat":38.293350555000046,"lon":-77.45757313208247,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-10-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Walker-Grant School is a three-story, flat-roofed brick school with Art Deco details in the Mayfield neighborhood of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was built in 1935 and enlarged in 1938 and 1940.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion A in education and ethnic heritage as the first and only segregated African-American school of secondary education in Fredericksburg. It was built from Virginia Department of Education plans and later expanded to house high school classes. The form calls it a well-preserved school of the Great Depression era and a long-standing landmark for the city's African-American community.","narrative":"Walker-Grant School is a brick school in Fredericksburg's Mayfield neighborhood, an African-American community south of downtown. Opened in 1935 as the Fredericksburg Colored School, it was built from Virginia Department of Education plans and has Art Deco details, with three stories on its south side. Additions in 1938 and 1940 turned the original L-shaped building into a larger structure with high school classrooms, a west wing and a third story. The school was renamed for Joseph Walker and Jason C. Grant, two local men who worked for Black education in the city. It matters as the first and only segregated African-American secondary school in Fredericksburg, following earlier private high school efforts supported by churches and community members. It later served as the city's middle school after integration in 1968 and then stood empty after 1988. Alumni lobbied to reopen it, and it now hosts community and educational programs.","period_of_significance":"1935-1948","architect_builder":"Virginia Department of Education; J.H. Bennett Co. Inc.; Lucas Construction Company","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"After the middle school moved out in 1988, the building sat empty until its alumni association gained use of it for community activities and programs. It now serves as a cultural and educational center for young people.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.355332-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/6808/41680871/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/98001311.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001311/a15a677f1c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001311/a15a677f1c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wikipelli","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walker-Grant_School.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikipelli</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walker-Grant_School.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680871","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker%E2%80%93Grant_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7962398"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fredericksburg/walker-grant-school-98001311/"}