School History (1939-1973)

The Original Mount Vernon High School

Mount Vernon High School was established in 1939. During the 1939-40 school year, students began the fall semester at Lee-Jackson High School, which was located in what is today part of the City of Alexandria, but at that time was part of Fairfax County.

Black and white photograph of Lee-Jackson High School.
Pictured above is Lee-Jackson High School. A Fairfax County public school, Lee-Jackson was located at the intersection of Duke Street and South Quaker Lane. That area was annexed by the city in the early 1950s.

Mount Vernon was scheduled for completion by November 1939. However, the building wasn’t finished until shortly before winter break in December 1939. Because of the timing, the Fairfax County School Board decided to delay the opening of the school until the students’ return from break in January.

Photograph of a newspaper article. The text reads: The new Mount Vernon High School opened for classes Tuesday of this week. The new school will take the place of the present Lee-Jackson High School. Its cost was about $100,000; it contains eight classrooms, two commercial rooms, two laboratories, a faculty room and a clinic. The Lee-Jackson faculty has been transferred to the new school, with G. C. Cox as principal. Miss Frances Mitchell, of the Bailey’s Crossroads school, will be principal of the Groveton School and M. B. Landis, former principal of Groveton, will take charge of Lee-Jackson. The new high school is built on a portion of the original Mount Vernon estate and is about a mile from the Mount Vernon mansion. It is estimated that there will be 400 pupils at the new school. The building is of brick in colonial design, and it is hoped to add a gymnasium and an auditorium as soon as funds are available.
The Fairfax Herald, January 5, 1940, Page 1. Courtesy of the Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library.

Mount Vernon High School opened its doors to students for the first time on January 2, 1940. A dedication ceremony was held two weeks later. During the ceremony, Mount Vernon’s first principal, G. Claude Cox, gave the welcome address and guests were treated to a musical performance by the Glee Club.

Black and white portrait of Principal Cox.
Principal G. Claude Cox, 1944

Constructing the Original Mount Vernon High School

In December 1937, W. T. Woodson, Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), presented a letter to the School Board in which he stated the need for a new high school in the Mount Vernon area. Referred to as Woodlawn High School during the initial planning process, the new school was given the name Mount Vernon by the School Board on October 26, 1938. At that time, site selection for the new high school was underway. Ultimately, an 8.88-acre property fronting on Route 1, then called Washington-Richmond Highway, was selected.

Photograph of a survey plot from a legal document.
Plot of the first tract of land purchased for Mount Vernon High School. Fairfax County Liber G-13, Folio 208. Courtesy of the Fairfax County Circuit Court Historic Records Center.

In the fall of 1938, with the Great Depression gripping the nation, the School Board applied for grant funding from the Federal government’s Public Works Administration (PWA) to build new schools. The grant application was designated “P.W.A. Docket No. Va. 1058-F, Fairfax County Schools,” and it included a request for $100,000 to build Mount Vernon High School.

In December 1938, workers began clearing the Mount Vernon High School site. Three months later, on March 8, 1939, the School Board awarded the contract for the construction of Mount Vernon to general contractor C. E. Nuckols of Richmond, Virginia, at a cost of $93,080.

Black and white photo of the football team.
Mount Vernon High School Football Team, 1939-40

Five High Schools

In 1938, there were only five public schools in Fairfax County offering high school coursework, namely Fairfax, Franklin Sherman, Herndon, Jefferson, and Lee-Jackson. The schools had a combined enrollment of about 1,400 students and educated children in grades 8-11, with the exception of Franklin Sherman which was limited to grades 8 and 9. Academic work was extended to include the 12th grade beginning in September 1946.

Only white children were permitted to enroll in the aforementioned five high schools because public schools in Fairfax County were racially segregated until the 1960s. Until the opening of Luther Jackson High School in 1954, Black children residing in Fairfax County had few options available for secondary education. Students could attend the Manassas Industrial School, which required a lengthy trip by school bus to Manassas, or families could pay tuition to send their children to school in Washington, D.C.

Black and white photo of the basketball team.
Mount Vernon High School Girls’ Basketball Team, 1939-40

Keeping Pace With Growth

On June 13, 1940, Mount Vernon High School’s first senior class graduated. 50 students crossed the stage at the Reed Theater in Alexandria to receive their diplomas. Graduations, indoor athletic competitions, and school dances all took place at separate locations from Mount Vernon, because the school had been constructed without an auditorium and gymnasium.

Photograph of a yearbook cover. It is silver with dark lettering which reads: The Surveyor, 1940.
Pictured above is the cover of Mount Vernon High School’s first yearbook. Its name, “The Surveyor,” was chosen in connection with George Washington’s vocation as a land surveyor.

From 1940 to 1955, enrollment in FCPS steadily climbed from about 6,500 students to more than 33,000 students. Six additions to Mount Vernon High School were constructed during that same period.

Black and white photograph of the front exterior of Mount Vernon High School.
Pictured above is Mount Vernon High School in 1942. Construction on the first classroom addition to the school is still in progress.

In addition to new classrooms in the main building, the 1942 addition included separate buildings for home economics and shop classes. The shop building was later converted into a dwelling for the school’s janitor.

Photographs of the shop and home economics buildings at Mount Vernon High School.
Pictured above are the home economics cottage (left) and shop building (right) in 1942. Fairfax County School Board file photograph.

A second shop building was constructed in 1944, followed by another classroom addition to the main building in 1947.

The main building contains 16 classrooms, two laboratories, three offices, a library, and a small canteen. The library has 3,413 volumes and subscribes to 36 magazines and five newspapers. The big undertaking this year for both PTA and student government is the raising of funds for the construction of a playing field and bleachers. The building has no large assembly room, no auditorium, gymnasium, or cafeteria. Enrollment at the beginning of the year was 635 students, about 100 more than last year. The journalism class prints the school newspaper “Em Vee Hi” once a month. Sports include football, basketball, and baseball for the boys, and basketball and softball for the girls. ~ Fairfax Standard, February 7, 1947, Page 4 – “Know Your Schools”
Photograph of the front page of an old student newspaper.
“Em Vee Hi,” Volume V, No. 2 – November 1945
Black and white photograph of a group of students seated around a table engaged in conversation.
The Surveyor Yearbook Staff, 1946
At the meeting of the School Board this week, a delegation appeared urging the building of a gymnasium at the Mount Vernon High School. They were advised that while the Board had planned to do so, no funds are at present available. ~ The Fairfax Herald, May 21, 1948
Black and white photograph of the cheerleading squad posed on the field.
Mount Vernon’s Varsity Cheerleaders, 1950

As enrollment continued to climb in the early 1950s, several Quonset huts were installed at Mount Vernon.

Black and white photograph of students walking to class.
Pictured above is one of the Quonset huts that was installed at Mount Vernon High School. Acquired from military surplus suppliers, Quonset huts served as portable classrooms at many Fairfax County public schools in the 1950s.

In 1951, construction began on a new library, cafeteria, kitchen, music room, and an auditorium. The gymnasium was built in 1953. Prior to the completion of those facilities, basketball games and practices were held at Lee-Jackson Elementary School, and graduations and prom were held at the Reed Auditorium in Alexandria, and the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Yearbook photograph showing the Miss Mount Vernon finalists.
Miss Mount Vernon, The Surveyor, 1952

From 1952 to 1955, enrollment at Mount Vernon High School swelled from 1,299 to 1,850 students. Relief to the overcrowding came with the opening of Groveton High School in 1956.

Attention, attention! The first dance to be held at Mount Vernon High School is coming!!! The big event will be held in the cafeteria of Mount Vernon on March 26th – tonight! Music is to be furnished by the Ajax Orchestra. The dance is sponsored by the Newspaper Club. Hope to see you all there. It is hoped that this “first” at M.V. will be a big success. ~ Fairfax Standard, March 26, 1954
Black and white yearbook photograph of marching band members.
Mount Vernon High School’s Marching Band, 1960

The seventh and final addition to Mount Vernon High School was constructed beginning in 1962. At that time, Mount Vernon had an enrollment of some 1,850 students.

One part will include… a music wing, including a choral room, an instrumental music room, a music classroom, five practice rooms, a combination library-office, and two storage rooms. Another part will include locker rooms and showers, a corrective gymnasium, and two health laboratories. A third part will include a new physics lab, a general science lab, an art and drafting classroom, etc. ~ Northern Virginia Sun, February 21, 1962
Black and white aerial photograph of Mount Vernon High School.
Mount Vernon High School, Circa 1968

Did You Know?

During World War II, FCPS experienced staffing shortages because male teachers, custodians, and bus drivers were called into military service and some female teachers left for higher paying positions in the Federal government. Mount Vernon High School experienced several changes as a result, including the discontinuation of its course offerings in Latin. In 1942, teachers Carl Levin, Frank Morse, and Henry Gasson were drafted into the armed forces. After custodian John Lowe resigned, students in Mount Vernon’s Victory Corp took over his duties.

Principal G. C. Cox of Mt. Vernon High School reports that [sic] the entire janitorial service for the school has been undertaken by the students. During the Christmas holidays 65 students relieved the man-power shortage in essential occupations by working a total of 6,385 hours and earned $2,443. In addition, Victory Corps members are conducting bond and stamp sales and in a very efficient manner they are following-up their former graduates who are in the armed forces of the United States. ~ The Fairfax Herald, March 26, 1943

A Change in Leadership

In 1945, Principal G. Claude Cox resigned and accepted a principalship in Wytheville, Virginia. He was succeeded at Mount Vernon by Melvin Bowman Landes, who had served previously as the principal of Lee-Jackson Elementary School. Principal Landes went on to lead Mount Vernon for 28 years, from 1945 until his retirement in 1973.

Black and white photograph of Principal Landes.
Principal Melvin B. Landes, 1945

Alma Mater, 1960

Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon we sing to thee,

Your spirit and honor, humble and free.

Our praise to thee we sing; your bells of truth shall ring.

Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon praises to thee we sing.

Desegregating Mount Vernon

In 1954, the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education declared that laws creating separate public schools for white and Black children were unconstitutional. From its founding in 1870 until the mid-1960s, FCPS operated separate schools for white and Black children. Originally an all-white high school, Mount Vernon desegregated in September 1963, when 17 Black students were admitted. The number of white children enrolled in Mount Vernon at that time was approximately 1,430.

Black and white yearbook photograph of the field hockey team.
Mount Vernon High School’s Field Hockey Team, 1965

By the end of the 1963-64 school year, 34 Black students were enrolled at Mount Vernon High School. Some of the students had previously been enrolled at Luther Jackson High School. Others had matriculated into the ninth grade from Bryant Intermediate School.

Black and white yearbook photograph of the majorettes.
Mount Vernon High School’s Majorettes, 1966

In the fall of 1964, another 30 Black students who lived on post at Fort Belvoir were admitted to Mount Vernon.

Black and white yearbook photograph of Verl Zanders.
Verl B. Zanders was one of the first Black graduates of Mount Vernon High School. He was among the first students to integrate the school.

The teaching staff at Mount Vernon High School integrated in 1965, when Eugene Skinner joined the faculty as a science teacher. Mr. Skinner had previously taught science at Luther Jackson High School.

Black and white yearbook photograph of Eugene Skinner.
Eugene Skinner, 1966

A New Building

By the late-1960s, Mount Vernon High School had become severely overcrowded. The campus was landlocked, which prevented further expansion of the facility. In 1967, the School Board directed FCPS staff to begin planning for the conversion of Walt Whitman Intermediate School into a high school to replace Mount Vernon.

Black and white aerial photograph of Whitman Intermediate School.
Whitman Intermediate School, Circa 1968. The Whitman site was ideal because it adjoined a large undeveloped tract of land and its own property provided ample room for expansion.

Built at a cost of $6.5 million, the new Mount Vernon High School on the former Whitman campus opened to students on September 4, 1973.

Photograph of the covers of four Mount Vernon High School Yearbooks