Other Names: Jonestown Elementary School
Earliest Documented: 1897
Latest Documented: 1966
Tags: Segregated Black Schools
Description
Categorized as Colored School in 1924 and 1928. Segregated school until it closed in 1966.
Jonestown School does not appear on the 1875 or 1897 maps of Caroline County. Black students from this area probably attended nearby Johns Colored School before the Jonestown School was built.
The location of Jonestown School on Harmony Road (MD Route 16) is verified in oral history published by Coppin AME Church (formerly Jones Chapel):
Rosetta (Jones) Johns … recalls from her father, Ralph Wood Jones, that the church started as a Sunday school in the home of Elizabeth Johnson; her house was located beside the present church which later moved into a small school house.
During this time, the church shared joint property with the Farmers Memorial church, namely Jonestown Elementary School shortly after school segregation ended in Caroline County.
The two churches utilized the Jonestown school site for hosting Community meetings, weddings, receptions, Everybody’s Birthday celebrations and revivals. By the end of the decade, Coppins relinquished ownership to Farmers Memorial Church.
A descendant of The Jones family after whom the school was named, and of one of Jonestown Colored School’s students, reported that she attended the school until it closed in 1966. She also reported that in 2020 that the school is still standing. It was moved across the street from its original location and is now located next to the Jonestown Community Park. It has been divided into two or more small apartments.
Structure Exists: Yes
Location Precision: 50 meters
Primary Source: 1897 Saulsbury Map
Other Sources: Denton Journal 1924-11-15/page-5, 1928-10-20/page-4.
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