“The Old School House”

The Old Lucketts School, today the dominant feature in the Village of Lucketts, was built in 1913 during a period of sweeping reform in public education in Virginia when the theory of educational consolidation for rural students caused a building boom for schools. Consolidation schools reflected the State’s concern for efficient and economical facilities that would help rural students overcome isolation by mixing with a greater number of students.

The building reflects standard features of schoolhouse design of that time: a two-story frame rectangle with a hipped roof, wide overhanging eaves and an open bell tower, mixing Colonial Revival and Craftsman architectural styles typical of that era.
The interior retains such original schoolhouse fabric as wooden wainscoting, embossed metal ceilings, wooden floors and slate blackboards. Additions in 1919 and 1929 included more classrooms, electricity, and auditorium, and indoor plumbing.

The school opened in 1916 and graduated its first high school class in 1919. Its last high school class graduated in 1938, but the school continued to serve as an elementary school until 1972 when the new school was built next door.

When the building fell into disrepair, concerned citizens worked to transfer ownership of the building to the Loudoun County Parks and Recreation Department. The annual Lucketts Fair was created to raise funds to restore the building, and in 1981 it became the Lucketts Community Center, part of the Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services.

Today, two volunteer non-profit organizations, The Lucketts Bluegrass Foundation and the Lucketts Community Center Advisory Board, continue to raise funds to support the historic building and related programming.