“Remember Hine Junior High School?” I ask you. The site of the former Hine Junior High School is right here. This property is located at 310 7th Street SE in Washington, D.C. The land spans a little over 3 acres. Hine Junior High School was built in 1966. It served as a school until 2008 when it closed.
Hine Junior High School sits just north of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. It is adjacent to the Eastern Market and directly across from the Eastern Market Metrorail Station. The school is in the Capitol Hill Historic District. This is one of the nation’s largest historic districts.
After Hine Junior High School closed in 2008, the District issued a Request for Offerors. They sought a charter school operator. Following this, a Solicitation for Offers was issued for redeveloping Hine Junior High School. Eleven bidders from around the country responded. The District selected Stanton-EastBanc. This selection was based on their vision, past performance, financial capacity, and community feedback.
Before 1860, public education in D.C. was limited. It was only available to white students. This changed after April 16, 1862. President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. This act freed enslaved people in D.C. Black Washingtonians pushed for educational opportunities for their children. Leaders like Daniel Payne, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs encouraged them. A new segregated public school system emerged. Resources were scarce. Still, D.C. educated nearly 5,000 Black students by 1864.
In 1923, white families in the Capitol Hill area began sending their children to the new Hine Junior High School. Hine’s 1892 building was near Eastern Market. It originally housed Eastern High School. Both Eastern and Hine educated only white students at first. As the population grew, the school expanded. Towers Elementary, built in 1887 and next door to Hine Junior High School, became an annex for Hine. During this time, most schools for Black students were in Northwest D.C. There were no junior high schools for Black families on the east side of the city.
Lemon Galphin Hine was born on April 14, 1832, in Ohio. He managed a Cleveland newspaper at 19. He studied law in New York. In 1860, he married Mary Tillinghast. They had five children. Hine joined the Union Army during the Civil War. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant. An injury caused him to lose his voice. He left the army and moved his family to Washington, D.C. He practiced law there. From 1869 to 1883, he handled over one-sixth of all D.C.’s civil cases.
In 1966, a new Hine Junior High School was rebuilt on 7th Street SE. It was just north of Pennsylvania Ave SE, across from Eastern Market. In 2008, Hine Junior High School closed and merged with Eliot Junior High School. The new Eliot-Hine Middle School moved into Eliot’s building. In 2015, the old Hine Junior High School was razed. Condominiums and a grocery store replaced it.
Today, we remember Hine Recreation Center’s past. It reminds us of the changes and progress in education here.