Ridgeley Rosenwald School was opened in 1927 as Colored School No.1 in
Election District 13. The small school was located in central Prince
George’s County in the African American community of Ridgely*. A recipient
of a Rosenwald Foundation grant, the school was one of nearly 5,000
Rosenwald schools built in the south for African American children. The
foundation provided seed money for the schools, and the local African
American community provided the rest with tax revenue, cash, and in-kind
donations. Along with a nearby church and society hall, also named Ridgely,
the school was one of the focal points of the community until it was closed
in 1954. Ridgeley was then used as a special education center and as
administrative offices. Having remained largely intact, the Ridgeley
Rosenwald School is one of the best examples of a Rosenwald school in
Prince George’s County. The building originally consisted of two large
classrooms (each of which served at least three grades), a central
passageway; and an entrance flanked by two cloakrooms. A third classroom
was added by the 1950s. Of 27 Rosenwald schools built in Prince George’s
County, the Ridgeley Rosenwald School is one of nine that remains. Newly
restored, the school has retained many of its original design elements.
