The Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation has received a $23,000 from the National Park Service, the group announced last week.

The foundation’s Oral History and artifact Collection Project is one of 39 projects in 16 states and the District of Columbia that received funding as part of the Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights grant program, which focuses on the preservation of sites and stories directly associated with the struggle of African Americans to gain equal rights.

These funds will be used to support the foundation’s Oral History and Artifact Collection Project to preserve the history of the Woodville Rosenwald School and other African American schools. This competitive program awarded a total of $23.4 million in grants, including many to universities, colleges and municipalities.

The project will collect oral histories, documents and artifacts related to the experience of African Americans attending Gloucester schools before desegregation. The collected oral histories will be shared with the community through an online database, a traveling kiosk, and an audio/visual display in Woodville Rosenwald School. The information will be stored at the Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. The applicant will provide $5,000 in matching funds.

The mission of the Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation is “to seek, share, and preserve the history of African American education in Gloucester County and beyond.” The foundation has recently completed the restoration of one of the original classrooms from the Rosenwald School era and renovated the remaining space to serve as areas for research, display educational and community activities.

Woodville School, which is located at 4310 George Washington Memorial Highway, Hayes, served the black community between Ordinary and White Marsh from 1885 to 1939.

For more information, visit the Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation’s website at: www.woodvillerosenwaldschool.org.