by W&M Athletics | March 10, 2021
All teams to continue to compete without potential end date; increased fundraising remains critical to long-term sustained success
Entering the second year of the pandemic, universities operating broad-based athletics programs continue to battle the additional financial pressures that come with it. William & Mary, as an NCAA Division I institution and one that fields 23 sports, is not immune. In the fall of 2020, the William & Mary community strongly reiterated its support for the W&M Athletics program. Since then, the university has embarked on a rigorous review of W&M Athletics’ finances as it develops plans for a department that is equitable, has a plan for sustainable finances and continues its practice of community building with alumni, students, fans and friends. The community has also responded, swiftly exceeding short-term fundraising goals.
Colonial Williamsburg, William & Mary identify structure of 18th-century school
Crystal Castleberry, an intern on the 2013 dig, displays an 18th-century coin bearing the visage of George III. The field schools turned up numerous features and artifacts that ranged from before the founding of Williamsburg to a Brown Hall door key.
WILLIAMSBURG, VA
.- A small, white building tucked away on the William & Mary campus once housed the Williamsburg Bray School, an 18th-century institution dedicated to the education of enslaved and free Black children, researchers have determined. Now, the university and Colonial Williamsburg are working together to ensure current and future generations learn about the complex history of what is likely the oldest extant building in the United States dedicated to the education of Black children and the stories of those who were part of it.
William & Mary Military Science/Digges House at 524 Prince George St. (WYDaily/Courtesy of William and Mary)
The unassuming, small, white building tucked away on Prince George Street houses a lot more history than was originally thought.
The building most recently housed offices for William and Mary’s Department of Military Science and is known as the Prince George House on campus.
Dendrochronology analysis of the building’s wood framing conducted in 2020 by Colonial Williamsburg researchers confirmed the structure once housed Williamsburg’s Bray School, an institution that educated many of the town’s Black children from 1760 to 1774.
The Bray School’s mission was to impart Christian education to Black children and for students to accept enslavement as divinely ordained. The school was suggested for establishment in Williamsburg by Benjamin Franklin.
Photo - of - by Joseph McClain | February 25, 2021
A small white building that sits tucked away on the William & Mary campus once held an 18th-century school dedicated to the religious education of enslaved and free Black children, researchers have determined.
Now, the university and its neighbor, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, are working together to ensure future generations learn about the history of the building and the stories of those who were part of it.
William & Mary and Colonial Williamsburg have forged a partnership regarding the future use of the building, now known as the Bray-Digges House, likely the oldest extant building in the U.S. dedicated to the education of Black children. The agreement calls for relocation of the structure to Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, where it would become the 89th original structure restored by the foundation.