As part of GM’s continuing series surveying the historic school buildings in Georgetown he turns today to another condofied school: The Phillips School.
Wendell Phillips School
2735 Olive St.
Built: 1890
Architect: Unknown
Current Owner: Private Residences
The Phillips school was built in 1890 to serve east Georgetown’s large African-American population. It was named after the abolitionist Wendell Phillips.
Starting in 1866, the Black population of Georgetown was served by the Chamberlain School which stood on 26th St. between P and Q Streets. This part of the neighborhood was the center of Georgetown’s African-American population and was referred to as Herring Hill.
Almost immediately, the Chamberlain School was overcrowded. A survey taken by the District police department under orders of Congress-this was Reconstruction, and Congress was concerned that Black schools were not receiving adequate funding to meet their needs-found that Chamberlain was attended by 400 students. This overcrowding lead to the construction in 1885 of the Wormley School in west Georgetown. Continue reading
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