Williamsburg Bray School Preservation Launch Ceremony

The Williamsburg Bray School, founded to educate enslaved and free Black children, exemplifies Virginia's pioneering role in education. In an ambitious partnership, Colonial Williamsburg and William & Mary are working together to research and showcase the roles of race, education, and religion in American history. This includes the William & Mary Bray School Lab, which is documenting the school’s history to fully understand its complex legacy and to inform future interpretation.
The 1760 Bray-Digges House, discovered hidden on William & Mary's campus, is the oldest extant schoolhouse for Black children in the United States and predates our nation's founding. The building was moved this morning from the campus to the intersection of Francis and Nassau streets. This unique structure is the 89th original building restored by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. After restoration, it will be used to interpret the history of the Williamsburg Bray School.
For more information, visit: colonialwilliamsburg.org/bray
or wm.edu/sites/brayschool