Greene County (Va.) Board of School Commissioners Reports, 1839-1860

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

A small portion of the collection has been temporarily removed for conservation.

Preferred citation:

Greene County (Va.) Board of School Commissioner's Reports, 1839-1860. Local government records collection, Greene County (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Greene County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Greene County (Va.) Board of School Commissioner's Reports, 1839-1860. Local government records collection, Greene County (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Greene County (Va.) Board of School Commissioners Reports, 1839-1860. These records contain treasurer's records (bonds and accounts), minutes, and annual reports documenting disbursement of the county allotment for public education from the state Literary Fund. The reports contain information on the number of schools in the county, the number of poor children in need of aid to education, the number of poor children educated with money from the Literary Fund, and salaries paid to teachers.

Biographical / historical:

On February 21, 1818, the Virginia legislature passed a school bill which appropriated $45,000 annually from the Literary Fund for the education of poor children. (The Literary Fund was established in 1810 with passage of a bill to appropriate "certain escheats, confiscated, and forfeited lands" for the "encouragement of learning.") Under the provisions of the 1818 School Act, each county court was required to appoint five to fifteen commissioners to establish and/or administer schools for children of the poor. A more comprehensive, racially segregated public school system was established by the legislature in 1870. The system was racially segregated until the mid-twentieth century.

Greene County was named for Nathanael Greene, American commander of the Army of the South in the Revolutionary War. It was formed from Orange County in 1838.

The origins of the Orange Humane Society can be traced to an act passed by the Virginia legislature January 19, 1811, "appropriating the money arising from the sale of the glebe lands." On April 6, 1839, the legislature passed an act to appoint a board of commissioners with representatives from the Albemarle, Greene, and Orange county courts. The origins of the Orange Humane Society can be traced to an act passed by the Virginia legislature January 19, 1811, "appropriating the money arising from the sale of the glebe lands." On April 6, 1839, the legislature passed an act to appoint a board of commissioners with representatives from the Albemarle, Greene, and Orange county courts to appoint the Society's trustees.

Acquisition information:

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court records from the Greene County Circuit Court.

The collection is located at the State Records Center. Contact Archives Research Services staff for access information, directions, and hours.

Physical description:
0.15 cu. ft.