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Board of School Commissioners

Collection Summary

Title	Rockingham County Board of School Commissioners Records, 1835-1840
Collection Reference Code	RCSR
Inclusive Dates	1835-1840
Document Creator	Rockingham County Board of School Commissioners
Extent	1 box consisting of 19 folders
Creator	Rockingham County School Commissioners
Bio/Historical Note	On February 21, 1818, the Virginia legislature passed a school bill that appropriated $45,000 annually from the Literary Fund for the education of poor children. The Literary Fund had been established in 1810 which 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 public school system was established by the legislature in 1870. Prior to 1818, county schools were given the option of whether to appoint a Board of School Commissioners.
Archival History	The Board of School Commissioners records were transferred from the Rockingham County Circuit Court to the Library of Virginia sometime in the mid-2000s as part of a statewide effort to preserve fragile historic records located in local courthouses. In late 2019 the records made their way back to the Circuit Court, as steps have been taken to appropriate care for and house the records in their original location. Upon arrival, the records were re-arranged to reflect their organic organization.
Scope and Content	Rockingham County (Va.) Board of School Commissioners Records, 1835-1840, contain treasurer's accounts, school reports, school bonds, and abstracts of schoolmasters documenting the disbursement of the county's allotment, from the state's Literary Fund, for the education of indigent children. The Treasurer's accounts, 1835-1840, record the amount of money drawn from the State Literary Fund, money paid to each schoolmaster, the number of children taught, number of days taught, price of school for each day and student, and money spent on books and slates. The School Reports record the schools operating in the thirteen districts in Rockingham County. The reports also indicate the estimated number of poor children who qualified to attend the schools, number of students who attend school, the names of the schoolmasters and schoolmistresses teaching in the schools, salaries paid to the teachers, and the books used. School Bonds list the amount of money the treasurer of the School Commissioners of Rockingham County owe to the President and Director of the Literary Fund.
Index Terms	Government aid to education--Virginia. Poor children--Virginia. Public Schools--Virginia. Teachers--Virginia. Literary Fund (Va.). School reports--Virginia. Schools--records and correspondence--Virginia.
Geographic Name	Local, Rockingham County (Va.)--History--19th century. Rockingham County (Va.)--Genealogy.
Processing Information	Processed by Kayla Heslin, February 2020
Conditions Governing Access	This work has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
Arrangement	Documents are arranged into four series; school reports 1835-1838, school treasurers accounts 1835-1839, Abstracts of School Masters 1835-1840, and School Bonds 1834-1836.
Language	English

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