Pamunkey Indian School, 1937

Four students stand outside the Pamunkey Indian School in King William County. The Virginia Department of Education commissioned this photograph as part of a 1937 survey of educational facilities. The one-room schoolhouse was established in 1909. Prior to its construction children of the Pamunkey tribe attended school in a log cabin. The school provided an education from first grade through seventh grade, but children who wanted further education had to leave the reservation and attend a boarding school. The schoolhouse, closed in 1948 due to low enrollment, is now part of the Pamunkey Indian Reservation tribal museum.