348 Sunset Street
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Last updated on April 2, 2024
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Directions from Esbie Baptist Church to site 28:
- Turn left on Cardinal St
- In 300 feet turn onto Branch St
- In 0.2 mile turn right onto beach street
- In 300 feet turn right onto Sunset St
- In 300 feet the destination is on the left
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Sunset Hill School was built after the first African American school in Strasburg burned down in 1929. The African American community came together to acquire the necessities for the school to be possible. The school taught elementary education, grades one through seven. Students who sought to continue their education were bused to Frederick Douglass School in Winchester; however, the trip was not free, and it hindered many from going. The Sunset Hill School did not have the same luxuries as the white schools in the area. There were no indoor restrooms, water fountains, cafeteria, or heating unless it was from the stove, and books were hard to come by or second-hand from white schools. These setbacks did not discourage the teachers or the community from supporting and providing a good education for the students to be successful. They proved that African American students could achieve what white students could. Shenandoah County was segregated until 1964, and students at Sunset Hill School were granted permission to attend white schools. Sunset Hill School closed in 1964, and the building is used today as storage.
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