Billings School Site, 3100-08 Dumbarton Street, NW (now two private houses)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When this private school opened in 1807, it enrolled African-American and white students together.  Neighbors protested, and the school closed down, only to reopen as a private school for African-Americans.  The school was run by Mary Billings (1776-1826), a white widow from England, who taught until her retirement in 1823.  It was moved to a private home on H Street, NW in 1821.  The school continued under the leadership of Mr. Shay (first name unknown), another Englishman, until his 1830 imprisonment for assisting a slave to escape.