Description
Sharon Indian School served as a center of education for the Upper Mattaponi Tribe. In 1919, members of the tribe purchased the land and constructed a one room frame building, and provided the furniture. King William County replaced the original school with a brick structure in 1952. Before the integration of Virginia schools in the 1960s, Sharon provided a primary and limited secondary education.
Many students left the area and attended other private or public institutions, some as far away as Oklahoma or Michigan, to obtain a high school diplomas. Upper Mattaponi students--and children from the Rappahannock Tribe in the 1960s--attended school here until June 1965. Sharon Indian School was one of the last Indians schools to operate in Virginia.
This project was supported with funding from Virginia Humanities, Virginia Indian Heritage Program, in 2009 (Grant no. VIHP-10-A). Funds to support the costs of collecting and archiving materials related to the history of Sharon Indian School, the first phase of a longer-term documentary project leading to a web site and book publication.
