Rippon Elementary School existed until the mid-1990s. It was near the historic Rippon Lodge in Woodbridge Virginia and was a middle and elementary school. In the 90’s it converted to a middle school 100% and the Rippon Elementary School was no more. This video is a flashback to 1988! See the school, playground, library, cafeteria, and classrooms.
Located on thirty-three acres of land, which formerly was part of the historic estate of Rippon Lodge is Rippon Middle School. The site is at the southern extreme of the community of Woodbridge, Virginia, and is approximately one-half mile west of the Potomac River.
Rippon Lodge was built by, Richard Blackburn, who in 1725, left his home in Rippon (now Ripon) in Yorkshire, England, and settled in northern Virginia. He built his home, which he named “Rippon Lodge,” on a high knoll overlooking the mouth of Neabsco Creek and the Potomac River. Crossing the property was King’s Highway, once known as the Potomac Path, which was the main post road between the northern and southern colonies. This historic road was often traveled by George Washington, General Lafayette, and French and American troops during the Revolutionary War. Tea bushes which were planted in colonial times can still be found growing on the lawn at Rippon Lodge. These bushes could be found throughout the colonies as a protest against the tea taxes levied by Great Britain.
Two of the daughters of Rippon Lodge became mistresses of Mt. Vernon. In 1785, the granddaughter of Richard Blackburn and daughter of Thomas, married Bushrod Washington, a nephew of George Washington. Later, a nephew of Bushrod, John Augustine Washington, married Jane Charlotte Blackburn. These two women are buried with their husbands at Mt. Vernon.
Many romantic legends are connected with Rippon Lodge. Two duelists fought in its drawing room, and a few people maintain that even today there are supernatural happenings at the Lodge. Two of the more recent residents, the late Rear Admiral Richard Blackburn Black, and a fifth great-grandson of Richard Blackburn, were never disturbed by such spirits as they lived comfortably in the carefully restored Rippon Lodge.
The building of the Rippon school was completed in August, 1966, and included an elementary school adjacent to and integral with the facilities occupied by the middle school. In 1996, the entire facility became Rippon Middle School as Rippon Elementary School was moved to a new elementary school in the Leesylvania area. The school draws from five elementary schools – Henderson, Featherstone, Marumsco Hills, River Oaks, Leesylvania (formerly Rippon Elementary). From Rippon Middle School, students advance to Potomac Senior High School, or a variety of other county wide specialty programs.
