Montgomery County Planners declared the former Edward U. Taylor Elementary School in Boyds an historic site.
Earlier this month, Montgomery County councilmembers unanimously voted to add the school property to the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation.
Built in 1952 during segregation, the elementary school represented the Black community’s efforts to provide good schools for their children. It was one of the last schools to be desegregated in the county and was the only segregated Black elementary or high school that remained a school building when it was integrated.
“Montgomery Planning commends the County Council for designating the Edward U. Taylor Elementary School site historic,” said Acting Planning Director Tanya Stern.
“The Taylor School is a significant landmark in the fight against racial segregation in Montgomery County and the nation and educates current and future generations about the struggle to integrate schools. Adding it to the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation ensures the inspiring efforts of individuals like Edward U. Taylor and Black organizations, parents, and teachers to obtain quality educational facilities for Black children in the mid-20th century will never be forgotten,” Stern said.
Located on White Ground Road, the school was completed in 1952 and added on to in both 1954 and 1969. It currently serves as the Taylor Science Center for processing and storing science kits for Montgomery County Public Schools.
This video from MCPSTV details the history of Taylor and the school.
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