Carver Nursery School / Post 129 (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Carver Nursery School / Post 129
City of Alexandria Est. 1749

This modest, wood-frame building has played an important role in the segregated history of Alexandria. During World War II, the federal government encouraged women to join the war effort by providing safe and affordable day care. In Alexandria, as elsewhere, racial segregation was the norm; the Carver School was completed in 1944 and operated as a segregated nursery school for children of African American war workers. After the war, federal support for day care ended but Alexandria's working mothers lobbied the city to keep the nurseries open. The city agreed to operate two white nurseries and the Carver School, but doubled the monthly fees to $27. In the black community, social clubs helped fund Carver students. The nursery ultimately closed in 1950 and the building then served as a segregated American Legion post. By 2010, the building was vacant and neglected and came close to demolition. It was finally preserved and adaptively reused in 2014.

"I have been at the Carver Nursery School a long time, and have enjoyed working with pupils, but when janitorial duties were added, I had no alternative but to resign," said Mrs. Smith, a graduate of Spelman College and Atlanta University. Washington Afro-American, February 16, 1946

City's Controversial Decision, 1946
Alexandria decided to end janitorial services at the nursery schools in 1946 to save money. At the Carver School, the two professional teachers, Lucille G. Smith and Velma D. Leigh, were required to perform janitorial duties including cleaning the building and maintaining the furnace. When it was learned that white teachers were not subject to the order, the teachers resigned. They were quickly replaced by a single teacher who agreed to perform the janitorial work.

New Home for William Thomas Post 129
In 1950, the Carver School became the home of American Legion Post 129. While the U.S. military was desegregated during the Korean War, veterans' organizations remained segregated for a number of years afterward. Formed in 1931 as the "colored" post in Alexandria, Post 129 was named after Private William Thomas, one of two African Americans from the city killed in World War I. He and Private Christopher Cloxom died in battle in 1918. In the 1950s and 1960s, the post offered social activities and educational and sports programs.

Erected by City of Alexandria, Virginia.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website as written by Ben M.:

Introduction:
Now home to a pediatric dentist's office, the former Carver Nursery School is significant for its association with local African American history. It was built in 1944 and operated as a nursery school for children of black parents until 1950 when it became the home of the American Legion Post 129. The post served black veterans and was named after William Thomas, who was one of the first two black soldiers killed in World War I.

Backstory and Context:
Women joined the workforce in droves during World War II to increase the production of the American war effort. The federal government promoted this by building and funding child care centers around the country including Carver and two others for white children in Alexandria. Peak enrollment reached around 130,000 by 1944. Federal support for them continued for several months after the war but this finally ended in February 1946. In Alexandria, working mothers asked the city to keep the three nursery schools open. It agreed but doubled the monthly fee to $27. Fortunately, social clubs in the African American community provided funds to help pay the fee, allowing Carver to remain open for four more years.

Post 129 was established in 1931 and occupied the former nursery for several decades. It offered a variety of social, educational, and recreational activities and programs in the 1950s and 1960s. The Legion sold the building in 2008 to a member who then sold it again the next year. The new owner attempted to demolish it but the city rejected that idea. The building was vacant by 2010 and the city put it up for sale. No offers came in over the next few years, however, and the building was once again threatened with demolition. However, thanks to the efforts of local preservationists, it was saved and the current owner acquired it in 2014.