Belle Aire School (Site)

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the school once stood. No visible remains exist.


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Here follows a history of the school as published on the Fairfax County Public Schools website:

The Belle Aire School was located near the intersection of Burke Lake Road and the Fairfax County Parkway. It replaced the Rice’s Corner School, a log schoolhouse that once stood a short distance away near Missionary Lane.

After the Fairfax County School Board closed schools during the consolidation era, many of the buildings sat dormant for several years. Because public schools were owned by a taxpayer-funded government body, it was necessary to secure approval from the Fairfax County Court for the sale of each school property. Once a court order was obtained, an auction was held, and the school was sold to the highest bidder. The Belle Aire School, a one-room schoolhouse situated in a sparsely settled area south of Burke, was purchased at auction in 1931 for $270.


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Here follows an excerpt from the 1970 Fairfax County Master Inventory of Historic Sites which contained entries from the Historic American Buildings Survey Inventory:

Belle Aire School:
The first Belle Aire School was a log structure located one-quarter mile west of the present building's location, on Pohick Road.

On April 12, 1894, (Fairfax County Deed Book R-5, page 383) one acre of land more or less was deeded to the Lee School District for school purposes. Shortly thereafter a simple rectangular frame structure, covered with German siding, topped by a ridge roof, was erected as a one-room school for grades one through eight. It was heated by a large iron stove which could accommodate two-foot-long wood chunks. Firewood was furnished first by the neighbors, later by the School Board. Drinking water came from the neighbors for a time, then a well was dug on the corner of the school lot. Two privies, one for each sex, provided toilet facilities.

James H. Rice, grandfather of the present owner, was a trustee of the Lee School District and a justice of the peace for many years. At least four members of the Rice family taught at Belle Aire at different times. There were usually about 20 students attending, sometimes more. A number of students walked several miles each way each day.

In 1931, the School Board Minute Book stated: "On June 12, the Belle Aire School property in Lee District was sold at public auction to Mr. J.B. Davis of Burke for $270.00..." By 1935, the present owners, Harlow and Carrie Rice, had purchased the property from Mr. Davis.

In 1967, the building suffered extensive fire damage, particularly to the roof. It is presently in derelict condition.