#bray school

Stop by the corner of Prince George and Boundary streets on almost any morning and you're likely to see the old brick walks busy with pedestrian traffic.

Curious tourists mix with sleepy students walking from their dorm at old Brown Hall to classes at the College of William and Mary.

Step back in time 250 years, however, and you would have seen about 30 black children ages 3 to 10 lining up for a day of instruction in reading, writing, religion and deportment.

An archaeological collaboration between William & Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation hopes to find conclusive evidence of the Bray School, an 18th-century institution dedicated to the education of free and enslaved black children.

Terry Meyers, Chancellor Professor of English at William & Mary, has collected evidence that indicates that the original Bray School building still exists—but the building has been modified extensively over the years and even moved from its original site.