The History of the Two Room School
The first elementary school was called The Mill Swamp School which was located opposite of the current site and was called a former Freedmen's Bureau School. After the former Freedmen's Bureau School burned, the trustees of Chews, Hopes, Mt. Zion, and St. Marks Churches decided that a new school needed to be re-built in order to further educate the black children in the community.
The trustees of Chews, Hope, Mt. Zion and St. Marks of the South River Charge of the Methodist Episcopal Church were William Whittington, Reverend Samuel T. Collins, and Arthur Brown. The church communities all worked together and purchased the land from Richard Henry and Martha Louise Neal on November 18, 1920, after the school burned according to oral history. Other records mentioned that the Mill Swamp School closed because of funding.
A physical description of the Mill Swamp School and Community can also be found in the original land and deed records. The Mill Swamp Community was also known as "Water Loo".
It would not be the first time that the four churches would help within their own community to support one another and it would not be the last. Until a new school could be built, the children would attend school in the homes of others.
In 1928, the trustees of the churches deeded the land to the Board of Education and a two-room school was built on this land. By 1950, the community had outgrown the two-room school, and the school would need to be expanded. The two-room school was modernized, and more classrooms were added. The Mill Swamp School was re-named The Ralph J. Bunche School. The school was named after Ralph J. Bunche an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Israel. He is the first black Nobel laureate and the first person of African descent to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Bunche was involved in the formation and early administration of the United Nations (UN) and played a major role in both the decolonization process and numerous UN peacekeeping operations.
Pillars of the Community
We would like to give tribute to those who have kept the grounds of our facility mowed, cleaned and free from debris, those who have volunteered their services to do just the little things, such as, put in a light bulb or doing a little painting and volunteering at our annual Community Day. It is these faithful persons who have given up their time unselfishly on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
We appreciate your kindness and commitment, and we thank you for your support throughout the years.
The first elementary school was called The Mill Swamp School which was located opposite of the current site and was called a former Freedmen's Bureau School. After the former Freedmen's Bureau School burned, the trustees of Chews, Hopes, Mt. Zion, and St. Marks Churches decided that a new school needed to be re-built in order to further educate the black children in the community.
The trustees of Chews, Hope, Mt. Zion and St. Marks of the South River Charge of the Methodist Episcopal Church were William Whittington, Reverend Samuel T. Collins, and Arthur Brown. The church communities all worked together and purchased the land from Richard Henry and Martha Louise Neal on November 18, 1920, after the school burned according to oral history. Other records mentioned that the Mill Swamp School closed because of funding.
A physical description of the Mill Swamp School and Community can also be found in the original land and deed records. The Mill Swamp Community was also known as "Water Loo".
It would not be the first time that the four churches would help within their own community to support one another and it would not be the last. Until a new school could be built, the children would attend school in the homes of others.
In 1928, the trustees of the churches deeded the land to the Board of Education and a two-room school was built on this land. By 1950, the community had outgrown the two-room school, and the school would need to be expanded. The two-room school was modernized, and more classrooms were added. The Mill Swamp School was re-named The Ralph J. Bunche School. The school was named after Ralph J. Bunche an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Israel. He is the first black Nobel laureate and the first person of African descent to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Bunche was involved in the formation and early administration of the United Nations (UN) and played a major role in both the decolonization process and numerous UN peacekeeping operations.
Pillars of the Community
We would like to give tribute to those who have kept the grounds of our facility mowed, cleaned and free from debris, those who have volunteered their services to do just the little things, such as, put in a light bulb or doing a little painting and volunteering at our annual Community Day. It is these faithful persons who have given up their time unselfishly on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
We appreciate your kindness and commitment, and we thank you for your support throughout the years.