Our History
19th and Early 20th Century
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, a number of small school houses throughout northern Frederick County served the students of our area. Approximately thirty different one-and-two-room school houses served the area that today is served by the contemporary Gainesboro Elementary School, including Back Creek, Bethel, Chestnut Grove, Cove, Cross Junction, Crossroads, Dicks, Ebenezer, Fairview, Gainesboro, Gore, Hawthorne College, Highland Valley, Howards Chapel, Lew, Lost, Parlett, Patterson, Railroad Union, Redland, Rock Enon, Salem, Sycamore, and White Oak.
Gainesboro Graded School (ca 1910-1935)
As early as 1910, the Gainesboro Graded School housed students from a variety of grade levels, which still stands on Gainesboro Road. The school was helmed by a number of headmasters whose families still have deep roots in the area, including Professor J.C. Beaty, N. Belmont Fout, Opal Luttrell Hilyard, and Nell V. Morris.
Gainesboro Consolidated School (1935-2007)
Gainesboro Elementary School in its contemporary form, “Gainesboro Consolidated,” was founded in 1935, unifying a number of local one- and two-room school houses into what was at the time a state-of-the-art 8-room brick building located just west of our current campus. Later expanded to include additional facilities, “Little Gainesboro” as it became fondly known served students for over fifty years until it was closed by FCPS at the end of the 1987-1988 school year along with its “sister school,” Gore Elementary. Two years later, as enrollment in FCPS continued to burgeon, the school opened, serving students again from 1990.
It was around this time that then-principal Shirley R. Place told a story to her students after they had a tough day on the playground that “an eagle was watching them,” and she declared that “Ernestine the Eagle” was part of the team. Ernestine has been our beloved mascot ever since. The mascot we use today was conceived by physical education teacher D. Chad Wines and artistically created by art teacher Keith Troxell. For a time in the 2000s, Ernestine had a white "G" on her shirt, and in 2010s, the words "I'm Determined" on her shirt.
Gainesboro Elementary School (2007-Present)
“Little Gainesboro” was our school building until the end of the 2006-2007 school year, at which time our new campus opened to serve a large number of families whose children had been attending Indian Hollow Elementary School and several additional students from Orchard View Elementary.
Today, Gainesboro is the northernmost elementary school in Virginia. (It beats Lovettsville Elementary School in Loudoun County by approximately 0.5 miles!) It serves the communities of Gainesboro, Gore, Lake Holiday, Cross Junction, Whitacre, and Snowden Bridge among the many other enclaves of northern Frederick County.
Our Principals
Since 1935, thirteen educators have served as Principal at Gainesboro:
 Mr. Fred Collins Braithwaite |
 Mr. Frank Lee Whitacre |
 Mr. Donald R. Warner |
 Mr. Larry E. Shobe |
 Dr. Susan S. Shelhamer |
 Ms. Shirley R. Place |
 Ms. Gail Unger |
 Ms. Jane Ziegler |
 Ms. René C. Norman |
 Mr. Christopher J. Cebrzynski |
 Ms. Kathleen M. “Kathy” Weiss |
 Ms. Patricia "Patty" Black |
 Dr. Keith David Reeves |