Overview.
Recalling Fairfax County’s rural history, the Vale School–Community House was built as a one-room schoolhouse circa 1884 on nearly two acres of land in the farming community of Vale, which today is a suburban residential area. A second room was added to the schoolhouse in 1912.
In 1931, after nearly 50 years of service as a school for rural children, the schoolhouse closed when the county began consolidating schools.
In 1935, the county school board granted the newly-formed Vale Home Demonstration Club, associated with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, exclusive rights to use the building, and in 1938 the Vale Club purchased the schoolhouse.
In addition to its architectural significance as the best preserved two-room schoolhouse in Fairfax County, and the social significance of the property's affiliation with the Home Demonstation movement, the building is also important for its association with Mrs. Florence Jodzies, who founded the Vale Club in 1934 and also served as an officer of the Virginia Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs.
Recalling Fairfax County’s rural history, the Vale School–Community House was built as a one-room schoolhouse circa 1884 on nearly two acres of land in the farming community of Vale, which today is a suburban residential area. A second room was added to the schoolhouse in 1912.
In 1931, after nearly 50 years of service as a school for rural children, the schoolhouse closed when the county began consolidating schools.
In 1935, the county school board granted the newly-formed Vale Home Demonstration Club, associated with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, exclusive rights to use the building, and in 1938 the Vale Club purchased the schoolhouse.
In addition to its architectural significance as the best preserved two-room schoolhouse in Fairfax County, and the social significance of the property's affiliation with the Home Demonstation movement, the building is also important for its association with Mrs. Florence Jodzies, who founded the Vale Club in 1934 and also served as an officer of the Virginia Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs.
Map by Dominic Bascone, DHR