Washington Magnet Elementary School is a historic

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

and building located at

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

Wake County, North Carolina Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

. It was built in 1923-1924 to serve African-American students in Raleigh and is now a

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

elementary school.

History

From 1924 until 1953, Washington served as the only secondary education institution for black students in Raleigh. This changed with the establishment of John W. Ligon Junior-Senior High School, which assumed that role. In 1982, Washington became an elementary school involved with the

magnet program In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

and Gifted & Talented curriculum. Washington was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2001 as the Washington Graded and High School. In 2003, it received designation as a Local Historic Site by the City of Raleigh's Historic Preservation Association.

Building

Washington Graded and High School was originally constructed in 1923-1924 as part of the city of Raleigh's plans to expand the education system in order to accommodate increasing numbers of school-aged children. The project was funded by a portion of the money from a million dollar

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

issued by the school board on April 4, 1922. At the time of its completion in 1924, The original building is a two-story, brick building with

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

style design elements. A three-story rear addition was built in 1927, a track in 1942, a gymnasium in 1949, and other additions were made in 1996 and 2000. The building was renovated from 2002-2003.

Notable alumni

John H. Baker Jr. John Haywood Baker Jr. (June 10, 1935 – October 31, 2007), nicknamed "Big John", was an American defensive lineman in the National Football League who played for four teams from 1958 to 1968. He later served as sheriff of Wake County, North C ...

, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

defensive lineman and long-time

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

sheriff * Maycie Herrington, history conservator * June Kay Campbell, civil rights activist *

Pee Wee Moore Numa Smith "Pee Wee" Moore (March 5, 1928 in Raleigh, North Carolina – April 13, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist.Zagier, Alan Scher. News and Observer (Durham, NC). "Jazzman doesn’t sing the blues." 2/22/1999 Moore attended Washin ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

* Millie Dunn Veasey, civil rights activist and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

veteranMillie Dunn Veasey, one of the last members of the only all-black, all-women battalion to serve overseas in WWII, passes away at age 100
''The Vintage News''. Retrieved December 20, 2020.

Notable faculty

* John W. Ligon, interim principal which

John W. Ligon Middle School John W. Ligon GT Magnet Middle School, formerly John W. Ligon Junior-Senior High School, is a Public school (government funded), public magnet school, magnet middle school in the Wake County Public School System located in the Chavis Heights neigh ...

was named after

References

External links

* African-American history in Raleigh, North Carolina Historically segregated African-American schools in North Carolina School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Tudor Revival architecture in North Carolina Former high schools in North Carolina Gifted education Magnet schools in North Carolina Public high schools in North Carolina Public elementary schools in North Carolina School buildings completed in 1924 Schools in Raleigh, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Raleigh, North Carolina 1924 establishments in North Carolina {{RaleighNC-struct-stub