Manassas School Founder Jennie Dean Celebrated With New Statue

MANASSAS, VA — City of Manassas and state officials on Saturday unveiled a statue of school pioneer Jane “Jennie” Serepta Dean, which will serve as the centerpiece of the Manassas Industrial School Memorial on Wellington Road.

The memorial pays tribute to Jennie Dean who, despite being born into slavery in 1848 and without the benefit of a formal education, changed the lives of many African Americans in Manassas, Prince William County and across the region when she established the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth in 1893.

At Saturday's ceremony, Manassas Mayor Harry Parrish II, Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton celebrated the unveiling of the statue and the life of Dean, who founded the Manassas Industrial School at a time when African Americans had few educational opportunities.

Manassas native and Philadelphia broadcast journalist Monique Braxton interviewed her father, Carroll Braxton, a congressional Medal of Honor winner who recalled his days as a student at the Manassas Industrial School in the 1940s.

The bronze statue was created by Bristow artist and Manassas Museum volunteer Christopher Hill, who faced a challenge in creating the statue because only one photo of Dean exists — and that photo is a head-and-shoulders image.

“Her left arm is outstretched, forming a clear line between the head, the heart, and the hand," Hill said. "These are the three parts of the body Jennie Dean had wished to strengthen through academic education, participation in faith services, and training in trade and industry.”

In 2021, six bronze reliefs of classroom scenes illustrating trades taught at the school will be added to the base of the statue.

Efforts to build a memorial to Dean began as early as 1984. The City of Manassas Historical Committee and the Manassas Museum acquired the 4.4 acres for the memorial, then owned by Prince William County Schools, in 1992. The current memorial opened in 1995, but the planned statue of Dean was delayed due to lack of funds.

More than 130 donors eventually met the $175,000 goal for the two year-long project, which includes the plaza surrounding the statue. The project was also funded by a $350,000 capital improvement project appropriation.

Fundraising continues for phase two of the updated memorial, which will include connected walking paths, interpretive signage and an amphitheater for community use.

The Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth was chartered in 1893. Dean purchased 100 acres and oversaw the construction of the school for the African American children of Northern Virginia. The school was designed as a private residential institution providing both academic and vocational training within a Christian setting. The first school building, Howland Hall, was completed in time for the dedication ceremonies led by Frederick Douglass on Sept. 3, 1894.

In 1937, the public school systems of Fairfax, Fauquier and Prince William counties formed a joint board of control and purchased the land and all the buildings from the Manassas Industrial School for a regional high school for African American students. This three-county partnership remained until the 1950s, when Fairfax and Fauquier built their own segregated schools.

In 1954, Prince William County consolidated its African American students from Brown Elementary School of Manassas with the Regional High School and the school became known as the Regional High and Elementary School.

The memorial is located at 9601 Wellington Road in Manassas.