New Historical Marker In Vienna Honors Educator Louise Archer

VIENNA, VA — Officials and community members gathered Saturday to unveil a historical marker for Louise Archer, an educator and namesake of Louise Archer Elementary School.

The historical marker is located at Louise Archer Elementary School (324 Nutley St NW in Vienna). It was proposed as part of Fairfax County's Black/African American Historical Marker Project. Submission came from fourth grade students and sponsoring Louise Archer Elementary teacher Anne Marie Harris, as well as Madison High School student Sydney Guthrie and Luther Jackson Middle School student Hunter Guthrie. The unveiling on Saturday included remarks from students of Archer.

"Louise Archer was a beloved teacher and principal who devoted her life to educating African American children in Vienna during segregation," said Del. Holly Seibold (D-Fairfax), who represents Vienna and attended the historical marker dedication, via a social media post. "Her legacy of service and perseverance lives on through the school that now proudly bears her name."

The elementary school that is now named for Louise Archer was originally a school for African American children when Virginia public schools were segregated. A Norfolk native, Archer moved to Washington, DC in 1922 and began working as a teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools. She started working at the Vienna Colored School in 1924 and as principal spearheaded the 1939 effort to have a larger schoolhouse built on Nutley Street where the current Louise Archer Elementary School is located.

According to the Louise Archer Elementary School website, Archer worked to improve school facilities for African American children, showed students kindness and held high expectations for excellence. She would often drive students since many lived a significant distance away from the Vienna Colored School.

Archer died in 1948 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery since her husband was a World War I veteran. After her death, students successfully petitioned to rename Vienna Colored School for the beloved teacher and principal.

The full historical marker text reads:

During her twenty-six years in Fairfax County, Louise Archer (1893-1948) taught at Herndon Colored School and was a teacher and principal at Vienna Colored School. She provided quality education, taught life skills including cooking and gardening, organized extracurricular activities at her own expense, and drove students to and from school. Since Fairfax County did not provide secondary education for African Americans until 1954, Archer had students use her Washington DC address to register for high school in the District so they would not pay out-of-state tuition. When Archer died in 1948, former students successfully petitioned to re-name the Vienna Colored School in her honor.