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The name of Glen Lea Elementary School is over 100 years old! It's beginnings as a school, however, harkens back further to 1876.
On March 18, 1876, a one-room schoolhouse on Harvie Road opened. The room was 24' by 36'. The School Board paid $62.50 to John Wright for the land. The School was named the Mechanicsville School.
In September, 1908, a new school on Mechanicsville Turnpike opened. The new school was much bigger; it had six classrooms, an auditorium, office, sewing room, basement, and central heat. A neighborhood contest was held to name this new school. "Glen Lea" was the winning entry. It was assumed that the name came from the farm named Glen Lea. An image and information about the 1908 building are below.
In just a few years, the student population outgrew the school building erected in 1908. In 1946, it was replaced by Glen Lea Elementary School on Austin Avenue, where elementary students still attend today.
The Glen Lea building, pictured above, on Mechanicsville Turnpike built in 1908 has since been demolished. The original one-room schoolhouse from 1876 is next to and owned by the Gospel Baptist Church. Below is the Church-owned structure as it appears today. The entrance of the original one-room is on the left-gabled end of the red brick structure, and the Church added to the original building over time.
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Fairfield Sites: Mechanicsville School
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