Oak Grove Academy and Westmoreland Institute were names used a different times for the same school. This school was established in 1891(25) and carried the following advertisement in the Northern Neck News(26)
The next September (27) the Northern Neck News had this statement:
Names of the teachers at Oak Grove Academy were:
This school was in operation in 1897(29) for it listed Miss Imogen Clark as teacher and W.P. Taylor as principal.
On June 9, 1899(30) the "Northern Neck News carried this news item:
This school was organized at the "Cottage" farm near Oak Grove, by Mrs. R.G. Pendleton.
The annual report of the Division Superintendents for the year 1909(31) listed two private schools in Westmoreland County. One of which was the Potomac School at Colonial Beach. For the year 1908 the school had an enrollment of thirty-two, twelve boys and twenty girls. The report for the year 1909 showed a large decrease in the enrollment, there being only twenty three pupils; eight boys and fifteen girls. The school operated eight months a year for both years. In all probability the school ceased to operate where the Town of Colonial Beach established the high school for the session 1909-1910.
In 1894, Mr. and Mrs. Wirt established a school for girls in their home, "Wirtland", near Oak Grove(31). Mrs. W.D. Wirt, nee Miss Garnet R. Pendleton, was the principal. This was a boarding and day school for girls, although boys of the neighborhood were permitted to attend as day students.
At one time during the existence of Wirtland Academy, the old "Lodge Hall", in Oak Grove, was used as the schoolhouse. This necessitated the transportation of pupils to and from "Wirtland", for Mrs. Wirt continued to use her residence as a dormitory. During most of the time, however, rooms in the main building at "Wirtland" were used for school purposes.
Wirtland Academy continued to function as a school until the beginning of public high school at Oak Grove in 1910.
Wirtland Academy was situated on the highest ridge between the Potomac and Rappahanock rivers.
Until 1877 Richmond County and Westmoreland County were under one superintendent and Mr. W.W. Walker and Colonel Thomas Brown served as superintendent for both counties. Later in 1877 the two counties were seperated and each had its own superintendent. Willoughby Newton Brown succeeded his father as superintendent in 1877.
Mr. W.N. Brown died about a year after his appointment and his place was filled by the appointment of Reverend Wilbur F. Davis, of Hague, in 1878
Reverend H.H. Fones was appointed superintendent of Westmoreland in 1882 and served until 1886. T. Hunter, Jr. was superintendent from 1884 to 1888.
Kinsale, having had its beginning in September 1908, was the first high school in Westmoreland County(32). This was probably due to the fact that Kinsale was the outstanding village and shipping center for that end of Westmoreland. Mr. George W. Murphy, who afterwards became Superintendent of Westmoreland was the first principal.
The building, of frame structure, burned in 1919. After some consternation it was decided to rebuild a school at a place nearer the center of Cople District. Hague was decided upon as the logical place. a two-room graded school was built.
The Washington-Lee Agricultural High School, at Montross, was established in 1911. This school was located on portions of Windsor Farm. It was adjacent to Andrew Chapel Methodist Church.
The first high school building (not pictured) was a two story frame structure. This building contained four rooms, and an upper and lower hall. The building was destroyed by fire in 1918. Immediately after a two story frame building, having six class rooms, auditorium, two halls, and a library replaced the one destroyed by fire.(34)
In the summer of 1930, for the second time, a building on the same lot was destroyed by fire. As soon as arrangements could be made, a one story brick building was created. During one session that the building was being constructed, school was held in what is now The Inn of Montross.
The current brick structure, having a library and ten class rooms, was build around an auditorium. The building had modern equipment, including the first indoor toilets and an oil buring furnace. The cost of this building was $33,000.
Miss Mary B. Hardy was the principal of the first high school in 1911.
Vocational Agricultural School was introduced at Washington-Lee High School in 1922. Mr. W.O. Strong, was the first instructor. Mr. T. Denton Gayle was next followed by Mr. Herbert Adams.
"Carpenters arrived on the scene Monday morning to start work on the new agricultural school. They found the work well under way. The boys in the agriculatural class had put in the concrete foundation and started the framework.
The building will be 40X58 feet and two stories high. The first floor will contain three rooms and a hall, a chemistry, laboratory, agricultural class and laboratory and a large shop room 20X58 feet.
The second story will be used later for a domestic science department".
In 1923 Home Economics was added to the curriculum. Miss Margaret Jenkins was the first teacher. The Agricultural building had class rooms and a large shop room. The Home Economics building had the usual rooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, sewing room, pantry, bathroom, and bed room.
The first school was opened under Mr. H.R. Eubank, principal. It had a two story frame structure consisting of four rooms.
In 1917 two rooms and an auditorium were added (to the old school on the left as shown in the above photograph), the two rooms downstairs and the auditorium was up-stairs.
Mr. Harry W. Coates was the guiding spirit in the establishment of the school in 1910. The approximate cost of the new building was $2,500.00. The original building was dedicated in 1911.
The students names were:
From the front row, from the left, are: Elton Marders, Stewart Trigger, Woodrow Kay, and Hunter Kay. Second row Fate Bowler, Mary Carpenter, Carter Kay, Parker Trigger, Gilbert Pitts and Hugh Trigger. Third row: Nellie Marders Worrell, Marie Bowler, Beatrus Bowler, Pemmie Trigger Dodd, Waverly Morgan, Earl Carpenter, James Jackson, and Owen Worrell
In 1910 the Rappahanock Graded School, located two miles north of Oak Grove, was closed and a bus route established to Oak Grove High School. This venture was not a success as only one child rode the bus, and he for only one day. The School Board was therefore forced to reopen the Rappahannock School. This was the first bus route in Westmoreland County.
In 1932 a combined auditorium and gymnasium was constructed for $10,000.
In 1937 the school consisting of ten classrooms, library, offices, lavatories, auditorium-gymnasium was completed at a cost of $77,000. The United States Government paid 45% of the cost of the construction. The Home Economics department was added in 1935. Miss Margaret Jenkins was the teacher. She shared her time between Oak Grove and Washington-Lee High School. In 1937 a seperate building was constructed for Home Economics. The Agricultural department was added in 1937. Mr. Coles was the first instructor(35).
A seperate town school was established when the town was chartered in 1892. Before the 1913-1914 session the school was held in various dwellings in town, and rented rooms, including some classes held over the Town Hall.
A one-year high school course was started under Mr. Aubry Newbill in 1909, and extended to a two year course in 1913.
A brick building was constructed in 1912 which cost $10,000. In 1936 an addition was made consisting of a auditorium-gymnasium, lavatories, and a heating plant. At the same time a building, with classroom and shop room suitable for classes in the trades, and a large athletic field, across from the school, was purchased. The cost of the additions, other than the athletic field, was $55,000 of which 45% was with Government funds from the Public Works Administration.
A commercial course was established in 1922 but was discontinued during 1929-1933. A trade school was added in 1936. Mr. Alfred Curtis was the first instructor.
The Town has its own school board.
