UVA Center for Cultural Landscapes Summer ’25 Newsletter Features

Spring ‘25 Field Methods Students Shine a Light on Dunbar Schoolhouse

This spring, UVA School of Architecture students in Field Methods (ARH 3604/8604), taught by faculty member Andy Johnston, spent the semester studying the material history and cultural landscape of Dunbar Rosenwald School in Fluvanna County, VA. Opened in 1921, Dunbar was built in the Freetown settlement community of New Fork. The building is a version of the Nashville Plan 25 (see left), a popular two-classroom design for Rosenwald Schools. Dunbar’s construction more than doubled the educational capacity for African American children in the area from the one-room New Fork schoolhouse a mile up the road.

Carmen Smith, OPI pilot project runner and owner of Dunbar Rosenwald School, hosted the class several times over the semester. Students who were enrolled at Dunbar (including Mozell Booker, right, and Barbara Bruce, pictured in the newsletter thumbnail) returned to meet with the class, answer questions, and recount memories of their school days. Carmen and the community were very gracious with their time and assistance, and many of the Field Methods students’ projects benefited greatly from this collaboration.

— Ethan Turner, CCL Graduate Research Assistant

Field Methods students and collaborators pose for a group photo on the final day of class

All photos by Agustin Cruz, MARH ‘26