SMITHFIELD, Va. - I recently visited The Schoolhouse Museum in Smithfield and got a wonderful local history lesson from museum docent Phyllis Wellons.
"To see the school is one thing and see how it was, but to hear the history is something else." says Wellons.
Originally built in 1926 in Chuckatuck, this one-room schoolhouse was moved to Smithfield in 2005 and renovated to become The Schoolhouse Museum, an African American History Museum of public education.
"They went through a lot just to learn because it was important to them. Not only was it important to them, it was important to their parents," says Wellons.
Inside the museum, you will see the slate board with a typical schedule for the day, a potbelly stove—the only source of heat—and some original desks.
Wellons tells me, "Not all the African American schoolhouses had the desks. Those that did not just had a simple bench for the children to sit on. They had to do all of their work in their lap."
"Some of these kids came to school with no lunch because basically what they brought was what was whatever was left over from the night before. So if there was no leftovers from supper time, that child came to school with no lunch," Wellons says.
Ms. Wellons tells me she hopes visitors gain a better appreciation for their education, especially for young students.
"I love it when the children come in here because when they see the schoolhouse it’s like, 'this is a school?'" says Wellons.
Wellons continues, "When they come in, if they hear this history, maybe that will have given them a greater appreciation, and maybe make them work a little harder to succeed."
The Schoolhouse Museum is located at 516 Main Street in Smithfield.
