Number 18 School in Marshall
Also known as: DHR File No. 30-135
Why it's listed
Number 18 School is a one-room wooden schoolhouse near Marshall in Fauquier County, Virginia, built in 1887 on one acre deeded to the county. It has weatherboard walls, a stone foundation, a metal gable roof and a wood cupola. It was first used for white children until 1907, when a new school opened in Marshall. Later it served Black children, and by the 1930s it was one of 31 elementary schools for Black students in the county. It closed in January 1964 as the last of them, and the county kept it as a representative example. Other similar buildings were moved, altered or demolished. The nomination describes it as the only surviving unimpaired one-room schoolhouse in the county and a rare example in Virginia. Its plain interior, original scale and setting remain largely intact. Restoration begun in the 1980s has been carried out by community groups and former students, with the cupola and front steps reconstructed to match the originals.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the only surviving unimpaired one-room schoolhouse in Fauquier County and an increasingly rare building in Virginia. It illustrates the early stages of public free education after 1871 and the history of Black education in rural Fauquier County. It also represents the typical simple rectangular, gable-roofed form of early free schools.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 97001405, listed November 7, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of VA 55 and VA 622, Marshall |
|---|---|
| County | Fauquier County |
| Listed | November 7, 1997 |
| Reference number | 97001405 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1887-1947 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th century |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education, Black |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Under restoration by community groups; current function listed as work in progress. The building has had no major alterations and its stone foundation, siding, windows and cupola have been repaired or rebuilt to match the original. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 38.86963, -77.83119 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 97001405.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712983
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.