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J.J. Jones School History
A School Built on Determination
The history of J.J. Jones High School is inseparable from the history of African American education in Surry County.
For decades, Black families faced limited opportunities for secondary education close to home. The creation and growth of what became J.J. Jones High School represented an important step toward providing students with educational opportunities within their own community.
The Beginning of a Vision
In 1914, educator John Jarvis Jones and his wife, Ora, moved to Mount Airy to help improve educational opportunities for Black children.
Jones established Virginia Street Elementary School and hoped eventually to create a high school for African American students. At the time, there was no high school for Black students in Surry County, and continuing an education often required leaving the county. Jones died in 1933 before seeing that goal realized, but his family and community continued the work.
In 1936, his son Leonidas H. Jones was asked to organize the Mount Airy Colored High School and serve as its lead teacher and, later, principal. The school began with 90 students.
A New School Takes Shape
After several years at the Virginia Street location, a new modern brick school was constructed north of Mount Airy on the site of the former Ararat School.
The new building opened for the 1940–1941 school year with 121 high-school students and 185 elementary students. In 1941, the school achieved state accreditation.
In 1945, Mount Airy Colored High School became J.J. Jones High School, honoring John Jarvis Jones and the foundation he had created for African American education in the area.
1914
John Jarvis Jones comes to Mount Airy and begins working to improve educational opportunities for Black children.
1936
Leonidas H. Jones organizes Mount Airy Colored High School.
1937–1938
The school celebrates its first graduating class.
1940–1941
The school moves into its new brick campus.
1941
The high school receives state accreditation.
1945
The school is renamed J.J. Jones High School.
1947–1948
Students help construct the school’s new gymnasium/auditorium.
1950s–early 1960s
Additional classrooms, a band room, gymnasium, and other facilities expand the campus.
1966
The final class graduates from J.J. Jones High School as Mount Airy schools move to full racial integration.
2021
J.J. Jones High School is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Built by a Community
Perhaps no story better illustrates the character of J.J. Jones High School than the construction of its gymnasium/auditorium.
When sufficient public funding was unavailable, the Black community raised money for the project and gathered donated materials. Students—primarily juniors and seniors—learned masonry skills and helped manufacture concrete blocks and lay brick under the supervision of vocational instructor E.T. Sellars.
The building provided much-needed athletic and cultural space for both students and the wider community.
More Than 600 Graduates
More than 600 students graduated from J.J. Jones High School between 1936 and 1966. Alumni maintained strong connections to the school long after graduation, organizing reunions and later forming the J.J. Jones High School Alumni Chapter.
The former school remains a physical connection to the educators, students, families, and community members who shaped generations of African American life in Surry County.