Education Within Prince George's County

After the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, the state assembly passed an act that allowed part of the taxes paid by African Americans to be used to construct schools for their children (Thornton and Gooden 1997:129–130). The federally funded Freedmen’s Bureau was authorized to establish schools for African-American children in Washington, D.C., and neighboring Maryland counties such as Prince George's County. 

In 1872 Prince George's County took control of the education of African American children from the Freedmen’s Bureau and officials voted to establish one or more schools in each election district for African-American children. From there we see the birth of T.B. Colored School, the first school constructed and opened by the county. Education continued to develop for African Americans, with the first public high school, Paul Laurance Dunbar High being established in 1870 and located in Washington, D.C. However on the neighboring border, Prince George's County would not get its first high school for African Americans until 1928.